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CHICAGO   LIBRARY  CLUB 


THE    CHICAGO    LIBRARY   CLUB 
1905 


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K.    R.    DONNEl.LEY   &    SONS   COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


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CONTENTS 

PAGE 

A  List  of  Libraries  in  Chicago       -        -        -  -        9 

Ryerson  Library,  Art  Institute          -        -        -  19 

Chicago  Historical  Society  Library        ■■        -  -       27 

The  John  Crerar  Library  -----  37 

Newberry  Library     -        -        -        -        -        -  -       S^ 

Chicago  Public  Library        -----  61 

The  Chicago  Library  Club      -        -        -        -  -      79 


86;37.~ 


V 


A   FOREWORD 

This  little  volume  is  in  nowise  an  attempt  to  give  a  com- 
plete statement  regarding  libraries  or  library  efforts  in 
Chicago.  It  is  the  result  of  the  desire,  long  standing,  of  the 
members  of  the  Chicago  Library  Club  to  gather  in  one  place 
such  data  concerning  the  club,  its  history,  its  scope,  and 
•object  as  shall  present  a  fairly  adequate  reason  for  its  exist- 
ence. 

There  are  many  more  libraries  in  Chicago  than  are 
enrolled  here,  but  it  has  seemed  inexpedient  to  wait  longer 
for  responses  to  the  several  requests  sent  to  them  for  data. 
Moreover,  as  the  Illinois  Library  Association  is  about  to 
publish  a  fairly  complete  statement  concerning  the  libraries 
of  the  state,  including  Chicago,  the  omission  of  some  names 
from  this  will  not  be  so  serious.  The  five  libraries  of  which 
extended  notice  is  herein  given  have  helped  to  make  possible 
the  publication  of  this  hand-book,  and  to  them  acknowledg- 
ment is  here  given. 

Mary  Eileen  Ahern, 
C.  W.  Andrews, 
John  Vance  Cheney, 
F.  H.  HiLD, 
H.  A.  Gould. 

Committee. 


LIBRARIES    IN    CHICAGO 

Altrua  Art  Library,  1223  Masonic  Temple.    Miss  Mary  Calkins, 

Librarian. 

History. — Founded  iSgy:  supported  from  dues  of  the  Altrua  Circle. 

Regul.^tions.— Open  9  a.  M.-5  p.  m.;  reference  and  circulating;  for  tlie  use 
of  all  self-supporting  girls  and  women. 

Resources. — Art  books  1,075,  others  500;  also  several  thousand  photographs. 

Armour  Institute  of  Technology,  33d  and  Armour  Ave.     Mrs. 

J.  Beveridge,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1S93;  supported  by  Armour  Co. 

Regulations.— Open  S  a.  M.-5  p.  m.,  and  7-9  p.  m.;  for  the  use  of  the 
students  of  the  Institute  only;  reference  and  circulating. 

Resources.— 17,291  vols. 

Chicago  Bar  Association,  lOO  Washington  St.  Carlos  P. 
Sawyer,  Librarian.  • 

History. — founded  1S92:  supported  by  membersliip  dues.     • 

Regulations.— Open  g  a.  M.-5  p.  m.,  except  Sunday;  reference  ;  fur  the  use 
of  members. 

Resources.— 7,500  vols. 

Chicago  Heights  Free  Library,  Chicago  Heights.  Harriet  Tay- 
lor, Librarian. 

History. — Founded  1902;  general  free  library;  supported  by  taxation. 
Regulations.— Open  2:30  6  p.  m..  7-9  p.  m.:  reference  and  circulating. 
Resources. — 2,100  vols. 

Chicago  Historical  Society  Library,  Dearborn  Ave.  and  Ontario 
St.     Caroline  M.  Mcllvaine,  Librarian. 

History. — It  was  founded  in  1856;  lor  use  of  all  students;  its  source  of  in- 
come lies  in  dues  of  members  and  interest  on  legacies;  reports  of  the  library  have 
been  printed. 

RECiULATloNS. — It  is  open  from  9  A.  .M.-5  P.  M.;  it  is  a  reference  library  oiil> . 

Resources. — 140,000  vols.;  its  contents  is  made  up  of  materials  for  history 
particularly  of  the  Northwestern  .States;  it  has  special  collections  of  Karly  Chicago 


lo  Chicago   Libraries 

imprints,  Karly  Illinois  ni.nvs|>apcTs,  Karlv  l.iws  of  Northwestern  territories  and 
states,  and  between  fifteen  and  twenty  thousand  manuscripts 'mainly  dealing  with 
this  region;  museums  of  relics  of  early  days  in  the  Northwest,  portrait  gallery 
of  oil-paintinKs,  and  marble  busts  including  the  explorers  and  settlers  of  the 
Northwest  and  Mississippi  Valley.    (See  historical  sketch,  page  27.1 

Chicago  Kent  College  of  Law,  18  26  Van  Buren  St.  Thomas 
E.  D.  Bradley,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  i8Sf<;  supporteil  from  tuition  fee.s. 

Kegul.ations.— Open    during    school    hours;    reference:    lor    the    use    of 
students  and  members  of  the  legal  profession. 
Kesources.— 2.^00  vols. 

Chicago  Law  Institute,  414  Court  House.  William  H.  Holden, 
Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1^57;  lor  use  of  stockholders  of  the  Institute  (who 
must  be  licensed  attorneys);  income  is  derived  from  the  sale  of  memberships 
and  from  annual  dues  levied  on  the  memberships;  issues  annual  reports  of  officers. 

Reculations.— Open  8:30  A.  m.-;:3o,  p.  m.,  6-<j:3o  p.  m.;  both  reference  and 
circulating;  not  open  to  the  general  public. 

Resources. -42,000  vols.         * 

Chicago  Public  Library,  Randolph  and  Washington  Sts., 
bounding  Michigan  Ave.     Frederick  H.  Hild,  Librarian. 

History.— If  was  founded  in  1S72:  for  use  of  the  people  of  Chicago;  it  is 
supported  by  ta.\ation;  yearly  reports  ol  the  library  have  been  printed. 

Regul.ations.— The  library  is  open  from  9  .a.  m.-io  p.  m.  on  week  days,  and 
from  q  A.  M.-6  p.  M.  on  Sundays  and  holidays;  the  Tublic  Library  is  both  refer- 
ence and  circulating. 

Resources.— Number  of  volumes  in  the  library  is  304--'o-  (See  historical 
sketch,  page  65.) 

Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  43  Warren  Ave.  Herbert 
Wright  Gates,  Librarian. 

History.  — Founded  1854;  supported  by  endownient. 

Re(;ll.\tions.— Open  g  12  a.  m.  and  iS  and  7-10  p.  m.;  closed  Saturday 
evening  and  Sunday;  reference  and  circulating;  open  to  the  public,  though 
preference  is  given  to  the  needs  of  the  students  and  faculty. 

Resources.— 23,908  vols.;  mainly  theological  and  sociological;  special  col- 
lections: Egyptology,  Rise  of  Congregationalism,  Missionary  Intelligence. 


Libraries    in    Chicago  ii 

Chicago  Training  School,  4949  Indiana  Ave.  Addie  Grace 
Wardle,  Librarian. 

History.— Fuiinded  1883;  supported  by  contributions. 

Regulations.  Reference  and  circulating;  for  the  use  only  of  the  s  udents 
of  the  school. 

Resources.— .\bo:it  1,600  vols.;  mostly  along  biblical,  missionary,  and 
philanthropical  lines. 

Erring  Woman's  Refuge,  5024  Indiana  Ave.  Mary  Taintor, 
Librarian. 

History. — Founded  1S88. 

Regul.ations.— For  the  use  only  of  the  inmates  of  the  home. 

Resources.— About  i.ooo  volumes. 

French  Library  of  the  Alliance  Francaise,  Fine  Arts  Building, 
M.  Ingres,  Librarian. 

History. —  Founded  1904;  supported  by  dues  of  members  and  donations. 
Regulations.— Open  g  a.  M.-5  p.  m.;  reference  aid  circulating. 
Resources.— 3,000  vols. 

Germania  Mannenchor  German  American  Library,  25  Germania 
PI.     Richard  Wagenknecht,  Librarian. 

History.— Supported  by  the  society. 

Regulations. — Open  during  club  hours;  reference;  for  the  use  of  club 
members. 

Resources.— 1,207  vols. 

Hahnemann  Medical  College,  2817  Cottage  Grove  Ave.  Joseph 
P.  Cobb,  M.  D.,  Librarian. 

History. — Founded  1893:  supported  by  becpiests  and  college  appropria- 
tions. 

Regul.ations.— Reference;  open  to  the  public. 
Resources.— ;, coo  vols 

Hering  Medical  College  and  Hospital,  Wood  and  York  Sts. 
S.  Gaswanis,  Librarian. 

History.     Founded  iSqS:  supported  by  \oluntary  ccintribi.tiuns. 

Kkgul.ations.  — Reference;  tor  the  use  ol  uiedical  students  only;  contains 
mounted  plates  of  medicinal  plants. 


12  Chicago    Libraries 

Illinois  Commandery  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the 
United  States,  320  Ashland  Block.  Wm.  Elliott  Furness,  Chairman 
of  the  Library  Committee. 

.  History.— Founded  1879;  supported  by  appropriation  and  devise;  reiiort 
printed  in  June  circular. 

Regulations.— For  the  use  of  companions  of  the  commandery,  and  the 
public,  with  limitations. 

Resources.— 2,800  vols.;  Civil  War  1861-6;;  U.  S.  regimental  histories  and 
army  reunions. 

John  Crerar  Library,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Floors,  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  Building,  87  Wabash  Ave.     Clement  W.  Andrews,  Librarian. 

History.— It  was  founded  in  1894;  for  ihe  use  of  the  public;  its  source  of 
income  lies  in  an  endowment  by  the  late  John  Crerar;  first  to  tenth  reports  of 
library  have  been  printed. 

Regul.ations.  — It  is  open  from  q  a.  m.-io  p.  m.;  reference  only. 
Resources. — 13). 194  vols.;  scientific  and  technical.    (See  historical  sketcii, 
page  37.) 

Lake  View  High  School,  Ashland  Ave.  and  Irving  Park  Boule- 
vard.    Helen  M.  Sheldon,  Librarian. 

History. — Founded  1S74;  school  library. 

Regul.ations.— Open  8:30  a.  M.-4  p.  m.;  reference  and  circulating;  lor 
students  of  tlie  school. 

Resources.— 3,440  vols. 

Lewis  Institute  Library,  cor.  Madison  and  Robey  Sis.  Frances 
S.  Talcott,  Librarian. 

History. — Founded  iSgS;  source  of  income  (see  page  11  of  catalogue);  re- 
port printed  in  .'\nnual  Register  of  Lewis  Institute. 

Regul.\tions.— Reference;  for  the  use  of  the  students  of  Lewis  Institute 
and  the  public. 

Resources.— 12.000  vols. 

Marshall  High  School,  Adams  and  Kedzie. 

History.— Founded  iSg;;  school  library;  supported  by  entertainments. 

Regulations.— Open  during  school  hours;  reference;  for  the  use  of  pupils 
and  teachers. 

Resources.— 2,000  vols. 


Libraries    in    Chicago  13 

Moody  Bible  Institute  of  Chicago,  80  Institute  Place.     John  H. 

Hunter,  Librarian. 

History. — Founded  i8qi;  supported  by  the  Institute. 

Regulations. — Open  one  hour  in  the  afternoon  and  one  in  the  evening; 
reference  and  circulating;  for  the  use  of  the  students  of  the  Institute. 

Resources. — i, 600  vols.;  almost  entirely  theological. 

Newberry  Library,   situated  in  Walton  Place.     J.   V.  Cheney, 

Librarian. 

History.— It  was  founded  in  1887;  for  the  use  of  the  public;  its  source  of 
income  is  in  an  endowment;  yearly  reports  of  the  library  have  been  printed. 

Regul.ations.— The  library  is  open  from  9  A.  m.-io  p.  m.;  closed  two  weeks, 
beginning  first  Monday  in  August,  and  on  the  chief  holidays;  it  is  a  reference 
library  entirely;  open  to  the  public. 

Resources. — Number  of  volumes  January  i,  1905.  202,727,  and  70,965  pam- 
phlets; total,  273,692. 

Char.acter  of  Contents.  —  General  reference  collection,  excepting 
books  relating  to  Science  and  the  Useful  Arts. 

Special  Collections. — .Among  the  special  collections  may  be  named,  the 
Prince  Louis  Lucien  Bonaparte  collection  of  philology;  the  Count  Pio  Resse  col- 
lection of  music;  the  Clarke  collection  of  works  on  fish,  fish  culture,  and 
angling;  the  Bailey  collection  of  works  on  China;  the  Dr.  Wilhelm  B.  Baum  col- 
lection of  works  on  surgery;  the  Dr.  Emil  DuBois-Reymond  collection  of  works 
on  phys'ology;  the  Schwarzlose  .Arabic  collection;  the  collection  of  Incunabula, 
over  200  volumes;  the  collection  of  manuscripts,  upwards  of  150  in  number;  the 
collection  of  English  and  American  hymn  books;  the  collection  of  genealogy, 
inde.xed  in  700  folio  typewritten  volumes. 

OiHER  Items  of  Interest.— The  Museum,  the  special  feature  of  which  is 
the  Probasco  collection  of  1,200  volumes  of  masterpieces  in  the  arts  of  calligraphy, 
illumination,  printing,  illustration,  and  bindmg.    (See  historical  sketch,  page  51.) 

Northwest  Division  High  School  Library,    cor.  Claremont  and 

Potomac  Aves.     C.  L.  Hooper,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1892;  supported  by  the  school  dramatic  and  musical 
societies  and  the  Board  of  Education. 

Regulations.— Open  8:30  a.  M.-4  p.  m.  every  school  day;  reference  and 
circulating;  and  for  the  use  of:pupils,  teachers,  and  alumni. 

Resources.— .X bout  1,900  vols. 

Northwestern   University   Medical   School   Alumni   Association, 

2431  Dearborn  St.     May  T.  Hillan,  Librarian. 

History.-  Founded  1895;  supported  by  proceeds  from  sale  of  te.vt-books 
to  students  and  part  of  librarian's  salary  paid  by  college. 


14  Chicago    Libraries 

REi;ii.ATioNS.--Open  8:30  a.  m.-6  p.  m.,  Saturday  to  ?;  rufeioiicc;  not  open 
to  the  public. 

Resources.— 4,000  vols. ;  the  library  contains  complete  sets  Sydenham  So- 
ciety publications.  Virchow's  .Archiv,  Hoppa-Sayler'sZeitschrift  fur  Psychoioiifische 
Chemie,  Centralblatt  fur  Bakteriolo«:ie,  Centralblatt  (ur  Mlgenieine  Patholot'ie  u. 
Pathologische  Anatoiiiie.  .Mso  complete  tiles  of  the  more  important  American 
medical  lournal;;. 

Northwestern  University  School  of  Law,  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity Building.     F.  B.  Crosslcy,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  i8:g:  supported  by  the  rniversity  and  gi  t.s. 

Re<;li.ations. -Open  8:30  A.  M.-9  i".  M.:  reference;  for  the  use  of  law 
students,  members  of  the  bar,  and,  under  cert  lin  restrictions,  all  persons  in- 
terested in  continental  jurisprudence. 

Resources.— i6,003  vols.;  Gary  collection  on  continental  law. 

Northwestern  University  School  of  Pharmacy,  87  Lake  St. 

History.— Founded  1SS7;  supported  by  the  sale  ol  text-books,  and  sritts. 
Regulations.— Open  during:  school  hours:    reference;  for  the  use  ol  phar- 
maceutical students. 

Resources.— 1,000  vols.;  pharmaceutical,  chemical,  botanical. 

Postal  Telegraph  Employes  Library,  Postal  Telegraph  Building, 
J.  E.  Pettit,  President. 

History.— Founded  i8g;;  supported  by  a  10  cents  monthly  tee  Iroiii  its 
members. 

Regulations.— Open  S  a.  m.  5  p.  m.:  circulatins,';  for  the  use  of  the  em- 
I)loyes  of  the  Postal  Telegraph  Co. 

Resources.— I, Soo  vols. 

Quine  Library,  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  University 
of  Illinois,  cor.  Congress  and  Honore  Sts.  Metta  M.  Loomis, 
Librarian. 

History.— Founded  189;:  supported  by  college. 

RE(;ul.ations. — Open  to  all  interested  in  medicine  and  the  allied  sciences. 

Resources.— 7,952  vols.:  and  a  perpetual  loan  collection  ol  i.Spo  vols., 
mostly  foreign  journals. 

Ryerson  Library  of  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago,  Lake  Front, 

opposite  Adams  St.     (Miss)  Jessie  L.  Forrester,  Librarian. 

History.— It  was  founded  in  1879;  (or  use  of  stutlents  and  members  ol  the 
.\rt  Institute,  and  all  serious  students  of  art:  annual  rei)ort.--_of  tin-  library  luivc 
been  printed  since  1892. 


Libraries    in    Chicago  15 

Regulations.— The  library  is  open  from  g  a.  M.-5  p.  m.;  it  is  both  a  refer- 
ence and  circulating  library;  it  is  open  to  the  public  on  Wednesdays,  Saturdays, 
and  public  holidays.     (See  historical  sketch,  pag-e  iq.) 

St.  Charles  Borromeo  Library,  12th  and  Cypress  Sts.  In  charge 
of  a  library  board. 

History.— Founded  in  iqoo;  supported  by  the  sodalities  of  the  parish. 

Regulations. — Open  one  afternoon  and  one  evening  of  each  week;  circu- 
lating; for  the  use  of  parish  sodalities. 

Resources.— I, goo  vols. 

St.  Ignatius  College  Library,  I2th  St.,  nr.  cor.  Blue  Island  Ave. 
James  J.  O'Meara,  S.  J.,  Librarian. 
History.— Founded  1870. 
Kegul.ations. — Open  g  .-v.  M.-4  v.  m.;   reference;   for  the  use  of  the  college 

faculty. 

Resources.— .About  33,000  vols. 

Being  designed  for  the  use  of  the  Jesuit  community  and  the  college  faculty, 
the  books  purchased  or  donated  from  time  to  time,  while  indicating  a  broad  plan 
of  learning,  are  mostly  in  the  line  of  studi  s  useful  for  college  training  and  sacer- 
dotal functions.  .Accordingly  the  best  collections  lie  in  the  domain  of  theology, 
history, scieiiiC,  and  literature,  especially  English  and  the  ancient  classics. 

In  theology,  besides  Bellarmine.  Ripalda.  Toletus,  Petavius,  and  two  score 
celebrated  authors,  ancient  and  modern,  there  are  six  editions  of  the  Summa  of 
Thomas  Aquinas,  including  the  latest  folio  edition  of  11  vols.,  published  under  Leo 
XIII.:  Suarez.  S.  J.,  opera  in  26  vols,  quarto;  Uuns  Scotus  in  26  vols.,  Paris;  Vives; 
Bonaventurs  Opera  in  i;  vols.;  Bede,  6  vols.;  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  21 
vols. 

Dogmatic  and  moral  theology,  canon  law,  liturgy,  patrology,  bibliology, 
sacred  oratory,  and  controversial  works  are  classified  in  this  department  under 
the  general  title  of  Religion.  In  bibliology,  besides  a  dozen  concordances,  many 
le.xicons,  and  over  50  Bibles,  some  rare  and  ancient,  the  most  precious  is  the 
Biblia  Polyglotta  of  Brian  Walton,  published  in  London,  i6;7,  in  6  large  folios; 
also  CastelTs  Lexicon  Polyglotton,  i66g,  in  two  large  folios.  The  bulk  of  Bible 
literature  consists  of  commentaries  on  the  several  books  of  the  Bible,  by  A. 
Lapide,  Cornely,  Hummelauer.  and  other  authors  approved  by  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  in  line  with  Catholic  interpretation. 

In  patrology,  or  the  works  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  Fathers,  there  is  Migne's 
collection  of  304  vols.,  published  at  Paris.  Bearing  on  canon  law  is  Mansi's  Col- 
lection of  the  Councils  in  40  folio  vols.,  and  Bulls  of  the  Popes  in  50  folio  vols. 

In  ecclesiastical  history  are  the  Annales  Ecclesiastici  of  Cardinal  Baronius; 
Natalis  Alexander:  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  by  Sforza  Pallavicini,  1769; 
the  same  by  Soave  Poiano.  translated  into  English  by  Nicholas  Brent,  London, 
1620.  (1700)  Giaici  Scriptores  hist,  eccles.,  i.  e.,  Eusebius,  Socrates,  etc.,  6  folios. 
Cave's    Apostolic    Fathers  and  Historia  literaria  scriptorum    ecclesiasticoruin. 


i6  Chicago    Libraries 

Among  Knglish  authors,  there  is  Bacon's  I.iber  Regis;  Bin^rham,  Burnett,  ?trvpe; 
Laud's  Conference  witii  Fisher. 

In  profane  history,  ancient  and  modern,  England  and  the  U.  S.  are  best 
represented.  Among  older  works  Rapin  de  Thoyras"  History  of  England,  pub- 
lished 1732,  and  Clarendon's  Rebellion,  are  worthy  of  mention,  along  with 
Froissart's  Chronicles  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Norman  Chronicles.  Histoire  de 
France,  Velly,  \'illarct,  Garnier,  16  vols.;  Charlevoix,  I.echevaiier,  Joinville, 
Wrascall. 

In  art,  Carrucci's  "  Storia  dell'arte  Christina  "  takes  first  place. 

A  curious  and  valuable  work  for  its  illustrations,  is  Ficart's  "  Religious  cere- 
monies and  customs  of  all  nations  "  in  7  folio  vols. 

There  isa  large  and  complete  collection  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  classical 
works,  mostly  old  editions  annotated  by  the  best  critics,  comprising  400  volumes. 
Graevius,  Thesaurus  Antiquitatum,  Romanaruni  in  12  vols.,  Gronovius,  Thesaurus 
Antiquitatum^Graecarum  in  12  vols.,  folio,  1732,  Venice,  with  supplement  of  5  vols, 
by  Sallengre,  and  3  vols,  by  Polenus,  Venice,  1738,  make  a  set  of  32  vols. 

Jesuit  authors  are  conspicuous;  66  folio  vols,  of  the  Bollandist  Acta  Sanc- 
torum and  21  vols,  of  supplementary  notes,  Analecta  Bollandiana,'  Jesuit  Rela- 
tions in  73  vols.;  Hamy's  Gallerie  lllustre,  S.  J.  10  vols.;  Monunienta  Historica 
S.  J.  240;  Sommervogel  Library  of  Jesuit  Authors,  9  vols,  quarto.  Some  manu- 
scripts of  twelfth  and  thirteenth  century  and  rare  old  books  printed  on  vellum  in 
Gothic  black-letter  and  bound  in  boards:  e.  g.  Euclid  of  1482,  Pliny  of  1473, 
Boethius  of  1491,  Sunima  of  1496. 

Teachers'  College  Library,  68th  St.'  and  Stewart  Ave.     Helene 

Louise  Dickey,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  about  18S3  as  Cook  County  Normal  School  library; 
supported  by  Board  of  Education. 

Regulations.— Open  8:15  .a.  m.-;  p.  m.,  except  Saturdays  and  holidays. 

Resources.— 17,750  vols. 

Teachers'  Reference  Library,  Board  of  Education  Rooms, 
Room  606,  Tribune  Bldg.     Flora  J.  Bates,  Librarian. 

History. — Founded  1904;  all  the  books  now  in  the  library  were  donated  by 
the  publishers. 

Regulations. — Open  on  Wednesdays  from  3:45-6  p.  m.,  and  on  Saturdays, 
from  9  A.  M.-3  p.  M.;  for  the  use  of  teachers. 

Resources.— Contains  about  2,050  volumes. 

Theological  Seminary  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  1301- 

1311  Sheffield  Ave.     R.  F.  Weidner,  President. 

History.— Founded  1891 :   supported  by  gifts. 

Regulations.— Open  7  a.  m.-io  p.  m.;  reference:  for  the  use  of  the  stu- 
dents and  faculty  of  the  seminary. 

Resources.— 6,500  vols. 


Libraries    in    Chicago  17 


Theosophical  Libraries  Chicago  Branch,  426  Van  Buren  St. 
Harriet  P.  Hurlbut,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  ibSs;  supported  by  donations  and  tines. 
Regulations.— Open  lo  A  M.-6  p.  m.,  except  Sunday;  reference  and  circu- 
lating; for  the  use  of  members  of  the  Theosophical  Society  in  Chicago. 
Resources.— 470  vols.;  theological  and  scientific. 

Union  League  Club,  E.  E.  Noyes,  Librarian. 
History.— Founded  iS8o;  supported  by  Club  funds. 
Regulations.— Reference;  for  the  use  of  Club  members. 
Resources.— 3ooo  vols. 

University  of  Chicago  Library,  Ellis  Ave.  and  58th  St.  Zella 
Allen  Dixon,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1892  supported  by  the  University  and  students'  fees; 
report  in  govt.  Rept.  on  libraries  in  U.  S.  and  in  reports  of  the  University. 

Regul.\tions.— Open  8:30  a.  m.-;:3o  p.  m.;  reference  and  circulating;  for 
the  use  of  members  of  the  University  and  the  public. 

Resources.— 419,122  vols,  (approximate'):  special  collections— Am.  Bible 
Union  (early  English  tr.  of  the  Bible);  Howard  collection  (matrimonial  institu- 
tions); Emil-Hirsch-Bernays  collection,  German  and  French  Classics. 

University  of  Illinois  School  of  Pharmacy,  Michigan  Ave.  and 
I2th  St.     W.  B.  Day,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1859;  supported  by  the  University. 
Regul.\tions.— Reference;  open  to  the  public. 
Resources.— About  i,;oovols. 

Virginia  Library  of  the  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  1060 
N.  Halsted  St. ;  in  care  of  a  committee  01  the  faculty. 

History.- Founded  1894;  supported  by  special  and  private  funds. 
Regulations.— Reference  and  circulating;  open  to  scholars  recommended. 
Resources.— 31,000  vols. 

"Waller  High  School,  Orchard  and  Center  Sts.  O.  L.  Wescott, 
Principal. 

History.— P'ounded  1S74;  school  library;  supported  by  Board  of  Education. 

Regul.^tions.— Open  9  a.  m.-2;3o  p.  m.;  reference;  for  use  of  pupils  and 
teachers  only. 

Resources.— About  1,600  vols.,  exclusive  of  pamphlets. 


i8  Chicago    Libraries 


Wendell  Phillips  High  School  Library,  39th  St.  and  Prairie  Ave. 

His  roKY.— Supported  by  t'itts. 

Regulations.— Reference;  fur  tlic  use  of  pupils  ol  the  scliool. 

Resources.— 1,423  vols. 

Western  New  Church  Union,  501  Masonic  Temple.  Sophie  M. 
Saul,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1S72;  supiiorted  by  invested  funds  and  annual  dues. 

Regul.ations.— Open  10  .a.  m.-;  p.  m.;  reference  and  circulating;  privileges 
obtained  by  the  general  public  on  payment  of  .^^i.oo  annual  dues. 

Kf.soircks,— Reference,  1,14";  lending,  150;  chiefly  religious. 

Western  Society  of  Engineers,  1737  Monadnock  Building.  J.  H. 
Warder,  Secy. 

History.— Founded  i86g. 

Regul.ations.— Reference;  primarily  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the 
Society,  but  now  open  and  free  to  the  public. 

Resources.— 5,200  vols.:  Engineering,  Technical,  and  Scientific. 

Western  Theological  Seminary,  11 13  Washington  Boulevard. 
Rev.  Francis  J.  Hall,  D.  D.,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1885;  supi>orted  by  occasional  small  appropriations 
from  the  general  funds  of  the  seminary. 

Regulations.— Open  for  reference  at  all  times  ot  the  day  and  evening;  for 
the  withdrawal  of  books  by  seminarians  from  9  A.  M.-12  m.  The  clergy  and 
religious  people  generally  may  consult  the  library  where  previous  arrangements 
have  been  made. 

Resources.— 5,700  vols.;  chiefly  theological.  Special  collections— Jubilee 
College  and  Bishop  Hale. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association — Central  Department,  153 
La  Salle  St.     W.  S.  Sandford,  Librarian. 

History. — Founded  1S60;  supported  by  the  Association. 

Regul.ATIONS.— Open  q  \.  iM.-io  p.  m.;  reference  and  circulating;  open 
to  members  of  the  Association. 

Resources.— 1,000  vols. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  288  Michigan  Ave. 
D.  B.  Crandall,  Librarian. 

History.— Founded  1S77;  No  special  source  of  income. 

Regul.ATIONS.— Open  8  \.  m.-9:3o  p.  m.;  Sundays,  1:30-9  p.  m-;  for  the  use 
of  the  members  of  the  home. 

Resources.— About  3,000  vols. 


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THE    RYERSON    LIBRARY 

THE    ART   INSTITUTE   OF   CHICAGO 

The  foundations  of  the  library  of  the  Art  Institute  were 
laid  in  1879,  when  a  fee  of  $2  was  imposed  upon  every 
student  entering  the  school,  to  be  expended  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books  upon  art,  so  that  it  is  now  about  26  years 
since  Mr.  French,  the  Director  of  the  Art  Institute,  bought 
the  first  book  for  the  library,  namely,  "The  Grammar  of 
Painting,"  by  Charles  Blanc.  In  this  way  a  library  was 
founded,  which,  until  1887,  received  no  other  help  except  a 
few  trilling  gifts  of  books.  In  1887,  through  a  gift  of 
$1,250  from  Mrs.  A.  M.  H.  Ellis,  additions  were  made  to 
the  Reference  Department,  proper  cases  and  appliances 
were  provided,  a  card  catalogue  was  begun,  and  it  became 
possible  to  devote  a  room  to  the  uses  of  Library  and  Read- 
ing-Room.  The  books  purchased  with  Mrs.  Ellis's  gift 
are  all  marked  "Sumner  Ellis  Memorial."  In  1894-95 
this  fund,  although  always  expended  with  careful  consider- 
ation, became  exhausted,  and  for  several  years  the  matricu- 
lation fees  of  the  students,  amounting  to  something  like 
$700  annually,  was  the  only  regular  source  of  income.  Of 
necessity,  this  sum  has  been  expended  for  subscriptions  to 
periodicals,  binding  and  repairs  of  books,  library  fittings, 
and  occasional  small  purchases  of  books. 

In  October,  1901,  the  Art  Institute  entered  into  pos- 
session of  the  present  library  building,  the  munificent  gift 
of  Mr.  Martin  A.  Ryerson.  The  library  was  formally 
opened  by  an  afternoon  reception  (October  26th),  attended 
by  many  friends   of  the   Art   Institute,    the  librarians    and 

19 


20  Chicago    Libraries 

other  officers  of  sister  institutions,  who  were  invited  to 
meet  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryerson. 

The  Library  occupies  a  room  of  generous  proportions  for 
so  special  a  library,  sixty-five  by  seventy  feet,  situated  in  the 
south  court,  and  corresponding  to  Fullerton  Memorial  Hall  in 
the  north  court,  designed  by  Shepley,  Rutan  &  Coolidge,  the 
architects  of  the  rest  of  the  building.  The  general  scheme 
of  decoration  was  designed  and  executed  by  Elmer  E.  Garii- 
sey,  of  New  York.  The  walls  are  a  soft  green,  and  the  pillars 
separating  the  alcoves  have  capitals  of  greenish  bronze,  while 
above  them  are  lunette-shaped  windows.  The  skylight,  of 
translucent  glass,  sliglitly  iridescent,  and  leaded  in  a  graceful 
pattern,  was  designed  by  Louis  J.  Millet.  The  frieze  run- 
ning below  the  lunettes  bears  in  gilt  letters  the  names  of 
writers  on  art  from  classic  times  to  the  present.  The  fur- 
niture and  fittings  are  of  mahogany. 

The  Dewey  Classification,  subject  to  modifications  made 
by  the  librarian,  is  used,  for  which  the  alcoves  are  admirably 
adapted,  the  student  finding  very  readily  what  he  wants,  if 
the  alcove  contains  it.  There  is  shelving  space  sufficient  to 
accommodate  about  eight  thousand  volumes,  nearly  half  of 
that  number  being  already  installed,  and  in  constant  use  in  the 
Library.  The  stack  room  space  underneath  the  Library  is 
almost  unlimited,  the  wall  space  alone  being  sufficient  for  at 
least  20,000  volumes.  So  far  no  stack  room  has  been  in 
requisition,  and  the  space  assigned  for  it  has  been  devoted 
to  offices,  a  Library  Class  Room,  and  school  purposes.  The 
Library  Class  Room  has  been  of  great  assistance  to  art  classes 
under  teachers,  since  the  photographs  and  books  can  be 
taken  to  it,  and  conversation  and  discussion  carried  on  in  this 
room,  which  of  course  is  not  permitted  in  the  Library. 

In  connection  with  the  Dewey  Classification  a  dictionary 


The    Ryerson    Library  21 

catalogue  is  used,  giving  simply  the  author  and  title,  supple- 
mented, by  a  subject  catalogue.  An  analytical  catalogue  of 
the  illustrations  and  text  contained  in  the  volumes  is  also 
well  advanced. 

The  Library  of  the  Art  Institute  is  a  students'  library, 
embracing  under  that  term  teachers,  lecturers,  authors, 
curators,  etc.,  originally  intended  for  students  and  members 
of  the  Art  Institute,  but  practically  made  free  to  any  serious 
student  of  art.  It  is  exclusively  an  art  library,  but  contains 
also  necessary  reference  books  and  dictionaries.  Preference 
has  been  given  to  works  in  English  to  suit  the  general  reader, 
although  a  good  many  volumes  in  foreign  languages  are 
included,  of  which  English  translations  do  not  exist. 

To  meet  the  wants  of  art  students,  more  especially 
students  of  the  Art  Institute,  is  the  principal  aim  and  desire, 
and  to  them  are  issued  certain  books,  which  constitute  a 
circulating  library.  Books  containing  valuable  plates  are  kept 
in  the  Reference  Department.  The  students  of  architecture 
and  decorative  design  are  especially  dependent  upon  books 
of  reference,  and  much  attention  has  been  given  to  their 
needs.  The  collection  is  already  respectable,  but  the  costli- 
ness of  books  of  this  class  prevents  their  rapid  accumulation. 
Provision  is  made  also  for  the  needs  of  students  pursuing 
required  or  special  courses,  such  as  artistic  anatomy,  per- 
spective, illustration,  history  of  art,  etc. 

From  time  to  time  the  Library  has  been  the  recipient  of 
very  valuable  gifts.  Mrs.  Ellis's  generous  and  timely  assist- 
ance in  1887  was  shortly  followed  by  the  accession  of  Muy- 
bridge's  great  work  on  "Animal  Locomotion,"  consisting  of 
eleven  large  volumes,  costing  $600,  subscribed  for  and  pre- 
sented by  friends  of  the  Art  Institute.  This  book  demon- 
strated  not  only    something    of    what     could     be    done    in 


22  Chicago    Libraries 

photography,  but  also  revolutionized  the  work  of  the  artist, 
giving  him  almost  any  and  every  variety  of  pose.  The  dis- 
covery was  then  made  that  many  of  the  old  pictures  and 
statues,  particularly  the  equestrian,  were  untrue,  as  it  would 
be  utterly  impossible  in  life  for  the  horse  to  occupy  the 
positions  it  is  represented  as  occupying  in  earlier  art.  In 
1900  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  M.  Nickerson  presented  125  vol- 
umes, many  of  them  "edition  de  luxe,"  all  important  works, 
and  a  valuable  addition  to  an  art  library.  Special  mention 
should  be  made  also  of  Mr.  William  G.  Hibbard's  gift 
of  "The  Vanderbilt  House  and  Collection,"  published  by 
George  Barrie  &  Son,  of  Philadelphia,  the  reproductions 
constituting  a  magnificent  work  of  four  volumes.  Louis 
Prang's  wonderful  reproductions  of  Mr.  W.  T.  Walter's  Col- 
lection of  Oriental  Ceramics,  with  text  by  S.  W.  Bushell,  is 
in  the  department  of  Decoration  and  Design.  The  process 
used  in  these  reproductions  is  simple  lithography,  but  carried 
to  such  perfection  that  the  result  is  remarkable.  These  ten 
volumes  were  another  gift  from  Mrs.  Ellis,  always  the  friend 
of  the  library. 

A  short  time  ago  Mr.  Pierpont  Morgan  sent  to  the  Library 
the  exquisite  catalogue  of  his  collection  of  Chinese  porce- 
lains, in  which  the  process  employed  by  Prang  is  followed, 
but  carried  still  further  than  in  the  Walters  Collection.  The 
Pierpont  Morgan  catalogue  was  printed  for  private  circula- 
tion only,  and  is  limited  to  something  like  250  copies,  one  of 
which  the  Library  possesses. 

The  Library  has  many  generous  friends  who  have  repeat- 
edly remembered  it,  among  them  Mr.  H.  H.  Getty,  Mr.  R. 
Hall  McCormick,  Mr.  J.  E.  Woodhead,  Mr.  A.  H.  Granger, 
Mr.  W.  J.  Onahan,  etc.  Time  and  space  will  not  permit 
the  enumeration  of  their  gifts. 


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The    Ryerson    Library  2 


J 


During  the  summer  of  1903  the  Librarian  was  asked  to 
prepare  a  bibliography  of  about  500  works  on  art,  not  al- 
ready in  the  Ryerson  Library,  which  would  greatly  enhance 
its  value.  At  his  own  request,  this  list  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Ryerson,  who  responded  with  a  check  for  $i,000,  suggest- 
ing that  this  sum  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  the  more 
inexpensive  books  mentioned  in  the  list.  The  rule  accord- 
ingly adhered  to  has  been  an  average  price  of  about  I3  a  vol- 
ume, occasionally  including  an  $8  or  $10  volume,  but  preserv- 
ing the  average.  In  February  of  this  year  Mr.  Ryerson  gave 
another  |i,ooo,  suggesting  an  average  price  per  book  of 
$12  or  $15.  In  October,  1903,  the  Trustees  voted  that  the 
income  from  the  John  Quincy  Adams  fund,  the  Frances  E. 
Ogden  fund,  and  the  Huntington  W.  Jackson  fund  (the 
interest  of  $ii,000)  be  appropriated  for  the  year  to  the  pur- 
pose of  buying  books  for  the  Ryerson  Library.  The  Libra- 
rian was  thus  enabled,  during  a  visit  to  London  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1904,  to  select  some  important  works  on  subjects  in 
which  the  Librai'y  was  lacking.  It  is  hoped  that  the  appro- 
priation maybe  continued. 

A  very  important  feature  in  the  Library  is  the  collection 
of  photographs.  In  1893  Dr.  D.  K.  Pearsons  presented  to 
the  Art  Institute  the  collection  of  large  carbon  photographs, 
commonly  known  as  autotypes,  published  by  Braun  &  Co., 
of  Paris.  The  collection  numbers  16,001  subjects,  and  at 
the  time  of  its  presentation  was  nearly  the  complete  pub- 
lication of  Braun  &  Co.  Reproductions  of  the  works  in 
several  other  museums  and  private  collections  have  since 
been  published,  to  the  number  of  2,185,  ^^'^^  the  Libra- 
rian is  at  present  in  correspondence  with  Braun  &  Co.  in 
regard  to  completing  the  collection.  The  photographs  in 
the  Library  include  authentic  reproductions  of  the  paintings. 


24  Chicago    Libraries 

drawings,  and  sculptures  of  the  great  masters,  ancient  and 
modern,  contained  in  the  museums  of  Europe.  There  is 
no  other  collection  so  large  in  America,  and  it  constitutes 
a  feature  of  the  library  of  the  highest  value.  The  place 
formerly  filled  in  art  libraries  by  expensive  collections  of 
engravings  is  now  filled,  and  well  filled,  by  photographs. 
For  the  ordinary  purposes  of  art  study,  photographs  are 
better  than  engravings,  and  vastly  less  expensive.  Engrav- 
ings have  become  chiefly  valuable,  not  as  reproductions  of 
the  works  from  which  they  are  taken,  but  as  exemplifications 
of  the  engraver's  art.  In  a  purely  artistic  light,  therefore, 
the  Pearsons'  Collection  of  Photographs  is  an  excellent  sub- 
stitute for  the  great  collections  of  engravings  in  some  of  the 
older  libraries.  The  value  of  this  collection  is  estimated  at 
$30,000.  It  overshadows  all  other  single  acquisitions  to  the 
Library,  and  is  known  as  the  "Mrs.  D.  K.  Pearsons'  Collec- 
tion of  Carbon  Photographs."  They  are  conveniently  in- 
stalled and  alphabetically  arranged  in  38  cases,  containing 
each  seven  sliding  drawers.  A  drawer  holds  between  60  and 
70  photographs.  The  Old  Masters  are  on  one  side  of  the 
library,  the  works  of  Modern  Masters  and  drawings  from  the 
old  masters  on  the  opposite  wall.  Many  miscellaneous  pho- 
tographs of  minor  importance  are  kept  downstairs,  as  well 
as  "The  Stickney  Collection  of  Engravings,"  consisting  of 
275  prints,  large,  medium,  small,  mounted,  and  unmounted, 
also  22  volumes,  some  of  which  are  bound,  others  in  port- 
folios. The  Stickney  Collection  is  installed  in  a  case  which 
does  not  correspond  with  the  Library  furniture,  and  for  that 
reason  it  is  kept  in  the  Library  Class  Room,  where  it  is  per- 
fectly accessible. 

The  Library  at   present  contains  3,947  volumes.     This 
does  not  include  outstanding  orders,  nor  does  it  include  the 


The    Ryerson    Library 


volumes  of  binders  containing  catalogues,  about  370  in  num- 
ber, on  our  shelves. 

The  number  of  volumes  in  the  various  departments  is 
approximately  as  follows:  Architecture,  610;  decoration  and 
design,  510;  dravi^ing  and  painting,  775;  sculpture,  160; 
engraving  and  etching,  105;  general  history  of  art,  illustrated 
catalogues,  and  periodicals,  1,025.  The  remaining  762  vol- 
umes comprise  works  on  archaeology,  encyclopaedias  of  art, 
guide  books,  general  encyclopaedias,  and  dictionaries.  Our 
periodical  list  comprises  56  of  the  leading  art  periodicals  of 
the  day. 

The  Library  is  open  daily,  with  the  exception  of  Sundays, 
from  9  A.M.  to  5  P.M.  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays 
it  remains  open  until  seven  for  the  benefit  of  the  evening 
students.  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays,  the  open  days  of  the 
Museum,  it  is  practically  a  free  public  library.  The  Libra- 
rian's report  for  1904  records  an  attendance  during  the  year 
of  51,882  visitors,  of  whom  31,851  were  members  of  the 
Art  Institute  School;  397  was  the  largest  total  attendance  in 
one  day.  The  Library  staff  consists  of  one  Librarian,  one 
Reference  Librarian  and  Cataloguer,  one  Assistant  Ref- 
erence Librarian  and  Cataloguer,  and  three  student  Assist- 
ants. 

Jessie  L.  Forrester,  Librarian. 


CHICAGO    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   LIBRARY 

Previous  to  the  great  Chicago  fire  of  1 87 1  there  were  but 
two  libraries  in  Chicago  open  to  the  public.  One  of  these 
was  that  of  the  Young  Men's  Association,  organized  in  1841. 
The  other  v/as  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  Library, 
founded  in  1856,  which  may  be  said  to  have  had  a  continuous 
existence  of  fifty  years,  for  although  the  entire  collection, 
amounting  to  100,000  volumes,  manuscripts,  and  pamph- 
lets, was  destroyed  October  9,  1 871,  yet  before  the  end 
of  November  of  that  year,  active  steps  had  been  taken 
to  resume  the  work.  Sister  societies  in  all  parts  of  this 
country,  and  even  abroad,  contributed  their  publications  and 
duplicates,  and  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical 
Society,  of  Boston,  placed  a  room  in  its  new  fire-proof 
building  at  the  disposal  of  this  Society,  to  which  the  vari- 
ous donations  were  sent  until  a  safe  place  of  deposit 
could  be  provided.  Very  considerable  collections  were  soon 
made  and  forwarded  to  Chicago,  only  to  be  consumed  in  the 
fire  of  July,  1874.  Undismayed  by  this  second  calamity,  a 
few  enterprising  and  cultured  men,  true  to  the  brave  and 
sterling  qualities  for  which  Chicago  has  become  famous, 
stood  together  and  began  again  the  work  of  the  Society,  at  a 
time  when  men  of  less  exalted  ideals  would  have  felt  justified 
in  turning  their  whole  attention  to  the  re-establishment  of 
their  own  homes.  As  the  result  of  such  heroic  effort  the 
Society  met  for  the  first  time  in  its  temporary  building, 
October  16,  1877,  with  the  nucleus  of  a  third  collection,  and 
with   a  prestige   heightened   by  these   vicissitudes.      It   was 

27 


28  Chicago    Libraries 


even  possible  to  reassemble  the  greater  portion  of  the  rare 
books  and  newspapers  destroyed,  for  members  of  the  Society 
contributed  their  personal  copies  of  these  works,  and  hun- 
dreds of  volumes  in  the  Library  bear  the  autographs  of  pioneer 
citizens. 

An  attempt  to  give  a  list  of  the  prominent  residents  who 
have  been  members  of  this  organization  and  supporters  of 
its  Library  would  result  in  naming  almost  every  public-spirited 
man  who  has  aided  in  developing  the  commercial,  artistic, 
and  literary  growth  of  Chicago.  The  officers  who  have  suc- 
cessively served  the  Society  are  as  follows: 

Presidents.— Wilham  H.  Brown,  Walter  L.  Newberry, 
J.  Young  Scammon,  Edwin  H.  Sheldon,  Isaac  N.  Arnold, 
E.  B.  Washburne,  Edward  G.  Mason,  John  N.  Jewett,  A. 
C.  McClurg,  and  the  present  incumbent,  Franklin  H.  Head. 

Secretaries  and  Librarians. — Rev.  William  Barry  (the 
founder  of  the  Society),  assisted  by  Samuel  Stone;  Thomas 
H.  Armstrong,  Lemuel  G.  Olmstead,  J.  W.  Hoyt,  William 
Corkran,  Belden  F.  Culver,  Albert  D.  Hagar,  assisted  by 
Charles  Harpel;  John  Moses,  Charles  Evans,  James  W. 
Fertig,  present  Secretary;  Caroline  M.  Mcllvaine,  present 
Librarian. 

Sources  of  Income. — Mr.  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  a  public- 
spirited  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  who  died  in  i860,  bequeathed 
to  the  Society  the  sum  of  $45,000  to  be  invested  and  the 
proceeds  used  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  a  fire- 
proof librarv  building.  Others  who  have  made  bequests  to 
the  Society  have  been  John  Crerar,  Lucretia  Pond,  George 
M.  Pullman,  Elizabeth  Hammond  Stickney,  Jonathan  Burr, 
Philo  Carpenter,  Mrs.  J.  Y.  Scammon,  Huntington  W. 
Jackson,  Henry  J.  Willing,  Elias  T.  Watkins,  and  T.  Mauro 
Garrett.     The    interest    on  these   funds,  together  with    the 


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Chicago    Historical    Society    Library      29 

dues  of  its  members,  constitute  the  only  sources  of  revenue 
of  the  Society. 

Buildings. — The  Society  has  occupied  successively  the 
following  homes:  1856-68,  Newberry  Building,  northeast 
corner  Wells  and  Kinzie  streets;  1868-71,  Society's  Build- 
ing (first).  Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street;  1872-74, 
number  209  Michigan  Avenue;  1877-92,  Society's  Building 
(second).  Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street;  1892-96, 
collections  stored;  since  1896  Society's  Building  (third), 
Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street.  In  1892  the  Henry 
D.  Gilpin  fund,  having  by  careful  investment  more  than 
trebled  itself,  and  the  legacy  under  the  will  of  John  Crerar 
having  become  available,  it  was  determined  to  solicit  from 
its  members  subscriptions  for  the  erection  of  a  permanent 
fire-proof  home  for  the  Society,  on  the  site  at  the  corner  of 
Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street  so  long  identified  with 
its  history.  To  this  appeal  the  members  responded  with 
their  unfailing  liberality.  The  temporary  building  being 
cleared  away,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  structure  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  November  12,  1892,  and  on 
the  evening  of  December  15,  1896,  in  the  presence  of  a 
brilliant  and  representative  gathering,  the  formal  dedication 
took  place. 

To  the  energy  of  its  president,  Edward  G.  Mason,  who 
was  at  once  a  man  of  affairs,  an  historian,  and  a  bibliophile, 
this  consummation  of  the  designs  of  the  early  founders  is 
due.  Under  his  direction,  and  at  a  cost  of  $190,000,  ex- 
clusive of  the  land,  a  scheme  of  fire-proof  construction  and 
furnishing  was  executed  which  in  completeness  has  no  equal 
in  a  building  used  for  similar  purposes  in  the  world.  The 
design  is  Romanesque  and  being  carried  out  in  Aberdeen 
red  granite,  steel,  and  tile,  the  effect   is  one  of  massiveness, 


3©  Chicago    Libraries 

and  great  durability  is  secured.  The  absolute  safety  from 
fire  has  aided  to  make  this  Library  a  repository  for  dona- 
tions of  valuable   manuscripts,  relics,  and  portraits. 

After  passing  the  outer  doors  of  ornamental  bronze  one 
enters  the  main  hall,  which  extends  two  stories  in  height,  and 
is  lighted  from  above  by  a  sky-light.  This  hall  is  devoted  to 
portraits  and  relics  of  representatives  of  the  French  rc'gime 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Here  is  a  fireplace  built  of  relics 
of  the  great  fire — stones  taken  from  the  old  Illinois  Central 
depot,  Cook  County  Court  House,  and  the  Nixon  Building. 

At  the  left  of  the  entrance  is  the  Reading  Room,  the  walls 
of  which  are  hung  with  portraits  of  historical  characters 
connected  with  the  history  of  Illinois.  Here,  also,  are  kept 
current  periodicals,  reference  works,  and  the  file  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune,  which,  with  its  predecessors,  the  Press 
and  the  Democrat,  goes  back  to  1833.  Back  of  the  Reading 
Room  is  the  Gilpin  Library,  which  at  night  is  shut  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  building  by  sliding  iron  doors.  Here  the 
books  are  all  stored  in  iron  cases  with  movable  stone  shelves. 

On  the  right  of  the  main  entrance  is  the  John  Crerar 
Hall,  the  lecture  hall  of  the  Society,  where  are  placed  marble 
busts  and  oil-portraits  of  persons  prominent  in  the  history  of 
Chicago,  who  have  been  members  of  this  Society. 

Ascending  the  broad  stairway  from  the  main  hall,  one 
passes  a  series  of  bronze  relief  portraits  by  Kemyss,  of  the 
French  explorers,  Indians,  and  some  of  the  famous  hunters 
and  trappers  of  the  Central  West.  On  the  second  landing 
hangs  a  full-length  oil-portrait  of  Shabona,  the  well-known 
Chicago  Indian,  painted  from  life  by  Webber.  Scenes  in 
the  life  of  Father  Marquette,  done  in  relief  by  McNeil, 
occupy  the  gallery  about  the  main  hall  on  the  second  floor. 
From  this  gallery  open  the  Manuscript  Room,  the  Stickney 


Chicago    Historical    Society    Library      31 

Library,  and  the  Museum,  which  latter  contains  objects 
illustrating  the  development  of  the  Chicago  region  from 
prehistoric  times  to  the  present. 

On  the  third  floor  are  the  Newspaper  Room,  the  United 
States  Document  Room,  and  the  Duplicate  Room. 

Scope  of  the  Library. — Contrary  to  popular  belief  the 
Library  does  not  consist  mainly  of  works  relating  to  Chicago, 
although  Its  collection  of  Chicago  material  is  probably  more 
extensive  than  that  of  any  other  library.  As  stated  in  its 
constitution  the  Society  was  formed  "to  collect  and  preserve 
the  materials  of  history,  and  to  spread  historical  information, 
especially  concerning  the  Northwestern  states."  By  com- 
mon consent  this  has  been  extended  to  include  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  With  the  above  object  in  view  the  officers  of  the 
Society  have,  through  the  years,  watched  the  book-marts  of 
the  world  to  purchase  for  the  Library  the  source  books,  and 
above  all  the  manuscripts  and  documents,  which  would  make 
this  collection  a  store-house  for  future  writers  and  teachers 
of  history,  where  might  be  found  all  the  materials  for  refer- 
ence and  original  research  relative  to  every  line  of  interest 
in  the  Middle  West.  In  fact,  "history"  has  been  defined  in 
its  broadest  sense  to  include  all  that  goes  to  make  up  the 
development  of  this  region  along  economic,  social,  political, 
scientific,  and  artistic  lines.  The  total  number  of  volumes, 
manuscripts,  and  pamphlets  is  140,000. 

Manuscripts.— The  James  Madison  Papers,  1778- 1836, 
purchased  for  the  Society  by  Mr.  Marshall  Field,  consist  of 
eight  large  volumes,  containing  some  1,400  letters  and 
papers,  written  during  the  time  Madison  was  delegate 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  and  of  the  first  Congress,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  President  of  the  United   States.     Three  volumes  con- 


32  Chicago    Libraries 

tain  the  letters  of  John  Armstrong,  Joseph  Jones,  and 
Edmund  Randolph  to  James  Madison,  and  throw  light  upon 
all  tlie  important  occurrences  of  those  times. 

The  James  Wilkinson  Papers,  1 779- 1 823,  are  contained 
in  four  magnificent  folio  volumes,  bound  in  full  morocco, 
and  each  manuscript  is  mounted  separately.  In  this  collec- 
tion, besides  letters  written  by  Wilkinson,  are  letters  from 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Timothy  Pickering,  General  Dearborn, 
W.  C.  C.  Claiborne,  Governor  of  Louisiana;  Marquis  of 
Casa  Calvo,  Spanish  commandant  at  New  Orleans;  Morales, 
Spanish  commandant  at  Pensacola;  Auguste  Chouteau,  of 
St.  Louis;  and  copies  of  letters  from  Aaron  Burr  and  others 
relating  to  Burr's  movements  and  capture. 

The  Ninian  Edwards  Papers,  consisting  of  the  letters  and 
documents,  public  and  private  (i 800-32),  of  Illinois's  terri- 
torial governor,  are  an  especially  interesting  commentary 
upon  the  politics  and  manners  of  his  day,  particularly  in  the 
Northwest.  A  portion  of  these  papers  form  volume  IIL  of 
the  Society's  Collections,  for  the  publication  of  which  the 
Society  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Marshall  Field. 

The  Pierre  Menard  Papers  comprise  three  quarto  volumes, 
largely  official  documents  of  the  first  lieutenant  governor  of 
Illinois,  who  held  almost  every  office  in  the  power  of  the 
people  of  Illinois  to  bestow. 

The  papers  relating  to  the  French  r/gimc  in  Illinois  and 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  consist  of  original  documents  and 
letters  in  the  handwriting  of  Joliet,  Allouez,  La  Salle,  Tonty, 
Frontenac,  and  other  governors  of  New  France,  copies  of 
the  parish  registers  of  the  early  French  missions,  etc. 
Among  these  documents  is  the  letter  of  La  Salle,  dated  at 
Chicagou,  September  i,  1683,  in  which  he  gives  his  parting 
directions  to  Tonty  and  the  little  band  left  at  Fort  St.  Louis. 


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Chicago    Historical    Society    Library      ^t, 

Another  document  of  even  greater  historic  interest  is  the 
deed,  or  bill  of  sale,  given  by  Francois  de  la  Forest,  the 
partner  of  Tonty,  to  Michel  Acau,  by  which  De  la  Forest's 
share  of  the  land  that  is  now  Starved  Rock,  was  conveyed  to 
Acau.  This  is  in  all  probability  the  first  deed  to  real  estate 
within  the  present  state  of  Illinois. 

The  Papers  of  President  James  K.  Polk  consist  of  the 
Diary  kept  during  his  administration,  1845-48,  and  original 
drafts  of  documents,  1826-48. 

In  addition  to  the  above  collection  the  Society  has  some 
14,000  individual  manuscripts  bound  and  indexed.  These 
contain  many  documents,  letters,  and  reminiscences  of  Illi- 
nois pioneers,  and  additions  are  constantly  being  made  by 
early  residents. 

Gilpin  Library — ^Leaving  the  Manuscript  Room  and 
returning  to  the  first  floor,  we  come  to  the  Library  proper, 
with  its  many  dingy  russet-colored  volumes  bearing  on  their 
bindings  the  blind  or  gold  tooling  of  a  bygone  epoch. 
These  are  the  original  editions  of  the  writings  of  the  explor- 
ers of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  First  and  foremost  of  these 
rarities  is  Melchisedech  Thevenot's  Recueil  de  Voyages,  in 
which  motley  collection  of  pamphlets  Marquette's  narrative 
of  his  voyage  down  the  Mississippi  first  saw  the  light  in 
print,  though  in  abridged  form,  and  accompanied  by  a  map 
which  Marquette  never  saw.  Next  to  this  little  volume 
stands  the  reprint  made  for  Mr.  Obadiah  Rich  in  Paris  in 
1845,  being  number  64  of  an  edition  of  125  numbered 
copies.  And  next  to  this  the  Dutch  translation  of  Pieter 
vander  Aa,  Leyden,  1707.  An  opportunity  to  compare  these 
printed  records  with  the  manuscript  originals  occurred  during 
the  winter  of  1904-05  when  those  precious  documents  were 
loaned  to  the  Society  and  were  on  exhibition  for  several  weeks. 


34  Chicago    Libraries 

_  ^ 

together  with  other  archives  from  the  College  of  St.  Mary's 
at  Montreal. 

Here,  also,  is  the  Dernures  dc'couvertes  dans  V Amc'rique 
septentrionale  de  M.  de  la  Sale,  par  Tonti,  Paris,  1687, 
which  Tonti  repudiated,  and  the  English  translation  of  the 
faithful  Joutel's  Journal  oj  the  Last  Voyage  perjormed  by 
Monsr.  de  la  Sale,  London,  17 14;  here  we  may  read  Henne- 
pin's version  of  affairs  in  French,  Dutch,  and  English,  like- 
wise that  of  La  Honton.  Later  we  find  Charlevoix,  La 
Potherie,  the  Jesuit  Relations,  Margry,  etc. 

The  collection  in  the  department  of  geography  and  travels 
beginning  with  the  nineteenth  century  lacks  few  if  any  works 
of  importance,  and  contains  many  volumes  of  the  greatest 
rarity.  Here  are  numerous  editions  of  Lewis  and  Clark, 
Patrick  Gass,  and  other  early  travelers. 

The  collection  of  maps,  directories,  gazetteers,  and  guides 
to  the  Central  West  is  remarkably  rich,  and  among  these  latter 
are  many  rare  and  curious  emigrants'  guides  filled  with  direc- 
tions and  advice  to  prospective  settlers.  The  collection  of 
county  atlases  and  histories  of  Illinois  and  the  surrounding 
states  is  also  large. 

A  great  effort  has  been  made  to  assemble  examples  of  all 
the  early  newspapers  and  periodicals  published  m  Illinois, 
with  the  result  that  over  two  hundred  titles  are  catalogued, 
forming  an  almost  inexhaustible  source  of  information  as  to 
the  politics,  manners,  and  customs  of  bygone  days. 

The  Library  is  a  government  repository  for  United  States 
documents,  and  also  receives  the  publications  of  Illinois  and 
the  surrounding  states.  Notable  in  this  department  are  the 
rare  original  editions  of  the  statutes  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, Indiana  Territory,  and  Illinois  Territory,  1788  to  1818, 
comprising  seventeen  volumes. 


Chicago    Historical    Society    Library      35 

Classification  and  Cataloguing. — Reclassification  by  the 
Cutter  Expansive  plan  for  special  collections  is  in  progress. 
A  typewritten  card-catalogue  of  the  dictionary  tvpe  is  in 
course  of  preparation.  The  special  catalogue  of  maps  chrono- 
logically arranged  under  localities  contained  1,500  entries 
January  i.  An  Index  of  Portraits  of  residents  of  Illinois 
and  the  adjacent  states  contains  at  date  over  12,000  entries, 
drawn  entirely  from  oil-portraits,  portrait  busts,  photographs, 
and  illustrated  books  in  the  possession  of  the  Society. 

Publications. — The  series  of  Collections  published  by 
the  Society  consists  at  present  of  the  following:  Volume  I., 
History  of  the  English  Settlement  in  Edwards  County,  Illi- 
nois, by  George  Flower,  with  notes  by  Honorable  E.  B. 
Washburne,  1882,  408  p.;  Volume  II.,  Sketch  of  Enoch 
Long,  an  Illinois  Pioneer,  by  Harvey  Reid,  1884,  112  p., 
the  two  preceding  volumes  being  published  at  the  expense 
of  the  late  Levi  Z.  Leiter;  Volume  III.,  The  Edwards 
Papers,  edited  by  E.  B.  Washburne,  1884,  632  p.;  Volume 
IV.,  Early  Chicago  and  Illinois,  Sketches  of  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard,  and  others,  1889,  400  p.  In  addition  to  the 
above  the  Society  has  pubHshed  some  forty  papers  on  his- 
torical subjects  presented  at  its  meetings,  and  the  Annual  Re- 
ports of  the  Executive  Committee,  which  contain  the  Libra- 
rian's reports. 

Lectures. — Historical  lectures  are  maintained  during  each 
winter. 

Regulations.— The  Library,  Museum,  and  collection  of 
paintings  are  open  daily,  except  Sunday,  from  9  a.m.  to 
5  P.M.,  and  are  free  to  visitors.  Classes  of  pupils  from  the 
schools,  under  fifteen  years  of  age,  must  be  accompanied  by 
their  teachers. 

Officers. — President,  Franklin  H.  Head;  vice-presidents, 


36  Chicago    Libraries 

Thomas  Dent  and  Lambert  Tree;  treasurer,  Orson  Smith; 
secretary,  J.  W.  Fertig;  executive  committee,  Edward  E. 
Ayer,  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  William  A.  Fuller,  Charles  F. 
Gunther,  Samuel  H.  Kerfoot,  Jr.,  George  Merry  weather, 
Walter  C.  Newberry,  and  Otto  L.  Schmidt. 

Caroline  AL   AIcIlvaixk,  Librarian. 


THE    JOHN    CRERAR   LIBRARY 

Foundation. — The  John  Crerar  Library,  the  latest  estab- 
Hshed  of  the  free  pubHc  hbraries  of  Chicago,  owes  its  exist- 
ence to  the  bequest  of  the  late  John  Crerar. 

Mr.  Crerar,  for  many  years  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Chicago,  was  of  Scotch  ancestry,  the  son  of  John  and  Agnes 
(Smeallie)  Crerar.  Born  in  New  York  in  1827,  he  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  that  city,  and  entered  into  busi- 
ness there,  becoming  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Jessup,  Ken- 
nedy &  Co.  Coming  to  Chicago  in  1862,  he  established  the 
firm  of  Crerar,  Adams  &  Co.,  dealers  in  railroad  supplies, 
and  accumulated  a  large  fortune.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  a  director  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Co.,  of  the 
Chicago  and  Alton  Railroad  Co.,  of  the  Illinois  Trust  and 
Savings  Bank,  and  president  of  the  Chicago  and  Joliet  Rail- 
road Co.  He  was  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  gave  liberally  of  his  time  and 
money  to  the  work  of  his  church.  He  was  greatly  interested 
in  the  charitable  institutions  of  the  city,  being  a  director  of 
the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  and  of  the  Presbyterian 
Hospital,  and  vice-president  of  the  Chicago  Orphan  Asylum. 
All  of  these  and  many  others  were  remembered  liberally  in 
his  will.  He  was  equally  prominent  socially,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Chicago,  Calumet,  Union,  Commercial,  and 
Literary  clubs.    ■ 

Mr.  Crerar  died  October  19,  1889.  His  will,  dated 
August  5,  1886,  was  admitted  to  probate  November  14, 
1889,  and  its  validity  was  finally  established  by  a  decision  of 
the   Supreme   Court   of   Illinois,    rendered  June    19,    1893. 

37 


;;8  Chicago    Libraries 

Specific  bequests  of  more  than  $600,000  were  made  to  rela- 
tives and  friends,  and  of  nearly  $1,000,000  to  charitable  in- 
stitutions and  public  purposes.  The  fiftieth  section  of  the  will 
disposed  of  the  remainder  of  the  estate  in  the  following  words: 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  I  have  been  a  resident  of  Chicago 
since  1862,  and  that  the  greater  part  of  my  fortune  has  been  accumu- 
lated here,  and  acknowledging  with  hearty  gratitude  the  kindness 
that  has  always  been  extended  to  me  by  my  many  friends,  and  by  my 
business  and  social  acquaintances  and  associates,  I  give,  devise,  and 
bequeath  all  the  rest,  remainder,  and  residue  of  my  estate,  both  real 
and  personal,  for  the  erection,  creation,  maintenance,  and  endowment 
of  a  free  public  library,  to  be  called  "The  John  Crerar  Library,"  and 
to  be  located  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  a  preference  being 
given  to  the  South  Division  of  the  city,  in  as  much  as  the  Newberry 
Library  will  be  located  in  the  North  Division.  I  direct  that  my 
executors  and  trustees  cause  an  act  of  incorporation  under  the  laws 
of  Illinois,  to  be  procured  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  this  bequest; 
and  I  request  that  Norman  Williams  be  made  the  first  President 
thereof;  and  that,  in  addition  to  my  executors  and  trustees,  the 
following  named  friends  of  mine  will  act  as  the  first  Board  of  Direc- 
tors in  such  corporation,  and  aid  and  assist  my  executors  and  trustees 
therein,  namely:  Marshall  Field,  E.  W.  Blatchford,  T.  B.  Blackstone, 
Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Henry  W.  Bishop,  Edward  G.  Mason,  Albert 
Keep,  Edson  Keith,  Simon  J.  McPherson,  John  M.  Clark,  and 
George  A.  Armour,  or  tlieir  survivors.  I  desire  the  building  to  be 
tasteful,  substantial,  and  fire-proof,  and  that  a  sufficient  fund  be 
reserved  over  and  above  the  cost  of  its  construction  to  provide,  main- 
tain, and  support  a  library  for  all  time.  I  desire  the  books  and 
periodicals  selected  with  a  view  to  create  and  sustain  a  healthy  moral 
and  Christian  sentiment  in  the  community,  and  that  all  nastiness 
and  immorality  be  excluded.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  there  shall 
not  be  anything  but  hymn  books  and  sermons,  but  1  mean  that  dirty 
French  novels  and  all  skeptical  trash  and  works  of  questionable 
moral  tone  shall  never  be  found  in  this  Library. 

I  want  its  atmosphere  that  of  Christian  refinement,  and  its  aim 
and  object  the  building  up  of  character,  and  I  rest  content  that  the 
friends  I  have  named  will  carry  out  my  wishes  in  ihese  particulars. 


JOHN  CRERAR 


The    John    Crerar    Library 


The  amount  thus  bequeathed  was  estimated  at  the  time 
to  be  about  $2,500,000,  but  it  was  hoped  that  improvement 
in  the  business  conditions  of  the  country  would  materially 
increase  this  sum.  These  hopes  have  been  realized,  and  the 
total  endowment,  on  a  most  conservative  estimate,  is  now 
$3,400,000. 

Development. — The  administration  of  the  estate  in  the 
Probate  Court  was  closed  July  13,  1894.  Meanwhile  the 
trustees  of  the  estate  had  co-operated  with  the  trustees  of 
the  Newberry  estate  in  securing  legislation  which  seemed 
needed  for  the  better  organization  and  administration  of 
endowed  libraries,  embodied  in  "An  act  to  encourage  and 
promote  the  establishment  of  free  public  libraries,"  approved 
June  17,  1891.  Under  this  act  the  John  Crerar  Library  was 
incorporated  on  October  12,  1,894,  and  duly  organized  Janu- 
ary 12,  1895.  All  of  the  directors  named  by  Mr.  Crerar 
nine  years  before  were  living  and  present,  and  Norman 
Williams  was  elected  the  first  president,  as  Mr.  Crerar 
desired. 

Mr.  Williams  gave  much  time  and  thought  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Library,  and  retained  the  presidency  until  his 
death,  in  1899.  He  was  succeeded  by  Huntington  W.  Jack- 
son, who,  both  as  trustee  of  the  estate  and  as  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  administration,  had  already  proved  his  interest 
in  the  Library,  which  was  further  manifested  by  a  bequest  of 
$1,000,  notable  as  the  first  bequest  received  by  the  institution 
other  than  the  one  by  which  it  was  founded.  His  death 
followed  too  soon,  in  January,  1901,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  Honorable  Peter  Stenger  Grosscup.  Other  deaths  and 
removals  from  the  city  have  changed  materially  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Board  of  Directors,  which  in  April,  1905, 
consisted    of    the    following  gentlemen:    Marshall    Field,    E. 


40  Chicago    Libraries 

W.  Blatchford,  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Henry  W.  Bishop, 
Albert  Keep,  John  M.  Clark,  Frank  S.  Johnson,  Peter 
Stengcr  Grosscup,  Marvin  Hughitt,  Thomas  D.  Jones, 
John  J.  Mitchell,  Leonard  A.  Busby,  Robert  Forsyth,  and 
the  mayor  and  comptroller  of  Chicago,  ex  officiis.  The 
Treasurer,  William  J.  Louderback,  and  the  Librarian,  Clem- 
ent W.  Andrews,  were  appointed  in  1895,  and  have  served 
to  the  present  time. 

The  first  act  of  the  Directors,  after  organization,  was  to 
declare  that  the  whole  amount  of  the  bequest  was  not  too 
large  for  the  sufficient  fund  which  they  were  required  to 
reserve  in  order  to  provide,  maintain,  and  support  the  library 
for  all  time,  and  that  therefore  the  endowment  should  not 
be  encroached  upon  either  for  land,  building,  or  books,  but 
that  a  building  fund  should  be  accumulated  from  the  income. 
This  fund  in  January,  1905,  amounted  to  nearly  $600,000. 

Scope. — The  second  act  of  the  Directors  was  to  deter- 
mine the  character  and  scope  of  the  Library.  The  trustees 
of  the  estate  had  prepared  a  list  of  the  public  libraries  of  the 
city,  giving  their  character  and  size.  The  actual  and  pros- 
pective development  of  the  Chicago  Public  Library  as  a  great 
lending  library,  and  of  the  Newberry  Library  as  a  great 
reference  library  in  certain  fields,  largely  influenced  the  trus- 
tees to  suggest  that  the  John  Crerar  Library  be  made  a  refer- 
ence library,  embracing  such  departments  as  were  not  fully 
occupied  by  any  other  existing  library  in  Chicago,  and  that 
the  number  of  departments  be  limited  to  such  as  the  funds 
of  the  Library  could  render  complete  and  unique. 

After  a  careful  consideration  of  the  whole  subject  the 
directors  unanimously  decided  to  establish  a  free  public 
reference  library  of  scientific  and  technical  literature.  This 
decision  seemed  to  them  to  accord  with  the  particular  busi- 


The    John    Crerar    Library  41 

ness  activities  by  which  the  greater  part  of  Mr.  Crerar's 
fortune  had  been  accumulated,  to  exclude  naturally  certain 
questionable  classes  of  books  which  his  will  distinctly  pro- 
hibits, and  to  favor  the  aim  and  object  which  it  expressly 
points  out.  As  personal  friends,  who  had  been  acquainted 
with  his  wise  and  generous  purposes,  and  with  his  civic 
patriotism  and  gratitude,  they  believed  that  he  would  surely 
have  wished  his  gift  to  supplement,  in  the  most  effective 
way,  the  existing  and  prospective  library  collections  of 
Chicago,  and  to  be  of  the  greatest  possible  value  to  the 
whole  city. 

Accordingly,  a  series  of  conferences  with  the  trustees  of 
the  Chicago  Public  Library  and  the  Newberry  Library  was 
held,  and  an  elastic  scheme  for  the  division  of  the  field 
was  adopted.  The  special  field  of  the  John  Crerar  Library 
may  be  defined  as  that  of  the  natural,  physical,  and  social 
sciences,  and  their  applications. 

The  administration  of  the  Library  is  not  organized  into 
departments,  nor  is  there  any  difference  of  treatment  of  the 
various  subjects,  but  for  convenience  in  dealing  with  appro- 
priations,   statistics,    etc.,    the    books    are    divided    in    five 
classes.  General  Works,  Social  Sciences,  Physical  Sciences, 
Natural  Sciences,  and  Applied   Sciences.     The  last  named 
class  includes  the  applied  fine  arts,  but  not  music,  sculpture, 
or    painting".     With    four    exceptions,    theology,    philology, 
aw,  and  medicine,  all  the  subjects  comprehended  by  a  broad 
interpretation  of  its  field  as  already  defined,  are  to  be  found 
n  the  Library.     All  these  exceptions  are  well  provided  for 
n  other  libraries  in  the  city,  but  the  omission  of  medicine 
las   always   been   regarded   as   anomalous,   and   has  caused 
much  otherwise  unnecessary  duplication.     It  is  hoped  that 
the  erection  of  the  permanent  building  will  offer  an  oppor- 


42  Chicago    Libraries 

tunity  of  correcting  this,  and  of  making  the  valuable  collec- 
tion of  the  Newberry  Library,  by  a  more  central  location, 
even  more  useful  to  the  medical  profession. 

While  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  Directors  to  develop  the 
Library  as  symmetrically  as  possible  within  these  limits, 
they  have  not  hesitated  to  take  advantage  of  exceptional 
opportunities,  and  have  made  several  purchases  which  make 
it  notably  strong  in  certain  subjects.  Unusual  attention, 
also,  has  been  given  to  the  collection  of  files  of  scientific  and 
technical  periodicals,  both  American  and  foreign. 

The  years  1895  and  1896  were  spent  in  the  preliminary 
work  of  organization.  A  Librarian  was  appointed,  a  staff 
selected,  and  temporary  quarters  secured.  The  purchase  of 
books  was  begun,  and  when,  on  April  i,  1897,  the  Library 
was  opened  to  the  public,  without  formalities,  there  were 
15,000  volumes  ready  for  use  and  7,000  more  in  the  hands 
of  the  cataloguers. 

Administration. — The  management  of  the  Library  is 
controlled  by  a  board  of  fifteen  directors.  Two,  the  mayor 
and  comptroller  of  Chicago,  are  ex  officio  members,  the 
others  were  appointed  by  Mr.  Crerar  or  have  been  elected 
by  the  Board  to  fill  vacancies,  such  elections  being  subject, 
by  the  act  under  which  the  Library  is  incorporated,  to  the 
approval  of  the  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois. 
The  Directors  hold  quarterly  meetings  and  usually  act  only 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  standing  committees,  of 
which  there  are  four  —  on  Finance,  Administration,  Buildings 
and  Grounds,  and  Books.  The  President  and  the  Chairmen 
of  these  committees  form  an  Executive  Committee.  A  care- 
fully considered  succession  to  the  powers  of  President  and 
Chairman  makes  further  provision  for  action  in  emergencies. 

Besides  the   President,   Vice-Presidents,   and   Secretary, 


The    John    Crerar    Library  43 

who  must  be  members  of  the  Board,  the  Directors  elect  a 
Treasurer  and  a  Librarian,  who  may  or  may  not  be  mem- 
bers. They  are  the  executive  ofificers  of  the  corporation, 
and  are  entirely  independent  of  each  other.  The  Treas- 
urer, under  the  supervision  of  the  Committee  on  Finance, 
has  charge  of  the  receipts  and  payments  of  the  Library  and 
the  investment  of  its  funds.  The  Librarian,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Committee  on  Administration,  has  charge 
of  the  general  management  of  the  Library,  and,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Committee  on  Books,  of  the  selection  and 
purchase  of  books.  In  the  latter  work  he  has  the  assistance 
of  several  of  the  staff,  who  systematically  read  and  summar- 
ize book  reviews.  Suggestions  from  readers  are  welcomed 
and  given  careful  consideration. 

Staff. — The  work  of  the  Library  is  carried  on  by  a  staff 
of  forty-three  persons,  consisting  of  a  librarian,  assistant 
librarian,  cataloguer,  reference  librarian,  classifier,  assistant 
cataloguer,  assistant  reference  librarian,  six  senior  assistants, 
fifteen  junior  assistants,  six  attendants,  four  pages,  janitor, 
assistant  janitor,  and  three  charwomen.  Of  the  forty-three, 
twenty-one  are  women.  Appointments  are  made  by  the 
Committee  on  Administration,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Directors.  All  applications  are  referred  to  the  Librarian, 
and  the  Committee  act  only  upon  report  from  him.  On 
account  of  the  peculiar  demands  of  a  scientific  library,  they 
will  not  consider  applications  for  positions  above  the  grade 
of  attendant  from  persons  not  having  a  reading  knowledge  of 
French  and  German.  The  Committee  also  place  great 
weight  on  library  training  and  experience,  so  that  nearly  all 
the  employees  above  the  grade  mentioned  are  graduates  of 
library  schools  or  have  entered  the  service  from  other 
libraries.     Of  the  attendants  almost  all  in  the   evening  ser- 


44  Chicago    Libraries 

vice  have  been  students  at  one  or  another  of  the  educational 
institutions  of  the  city  or  vicinity. 

Rooms. — Temporary  quarters,  pending  the  accumulation 
of  a  building  fund  and  the  erection  of  a  permanent  building, 
were  obtained  by  leasing,  in  July,  1895,  the  sixth  floor  of 
the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Building,  No.  87  Wabash  Avenue. 
In  May,  1900,  one  half  of  the  fifth  floor  was  added,  and  in 
January,  1906,  the  rest  of  that  floor  will  be  occupied. 

The  Reading  Room,  furnished  in  dark  oak,  is  on  the  sixth 
floor,  and  acconmiodates  about  one  hundred  readers.  The 
Society  Room  is  on  the  fifth  floor,  with  separate  entrance. 
It  seats  about  fifty,  and  its  use  is  granted  by  the  Committee 
on  Administration  without  charge  to  meetings  for  scientific 
and  educational  purposes,  and  can  be  secured  for  the  stated 
meetings  of  societies.  The  Stack  Rooms  are  on  both  floors, 
and  have  at  present  seats  for  about  twenty  readers  engaged 
in  special  research,  and  shelf  room  for  one  hundred  thou- 
sand volumes.  The  remainder  of  the  collection  has  been 
placed  temporarily  in  a  room  kindly  offered  by  the  New- 
berry Library.  The  Directors'  Room,  on  the  sixth  floor, 
contains  life-size  portraits  of  Mr.  Crerar  and  of  the  Due 
d'Aumale  by  the  late  G.  P.  A.  Healy.  Besides  these  the 
suite  contains  several  other  rooms  needed  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Library. 

Collections. — On  June  i,  1905,  the  Library  had  entered 
upon  its  books  of  record  134,194  volumes,  and  there  were 
still  unrecorded,  from  recent  purchases,  some  10,000  vol- 
umes and  20,000  pamphlets.  It  is  a  sood  working  col- 
lection in  most  of  the  subjects  within  its  scope,  and,  through 
certain  special  purchases,  much  more  than  this  in  some.  The 
special  purchases  include  about  8,000  volumes  on  science 
and  technology,   bought   of  the  Newberry  Library  in  1896; 


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The    John    Crerar    Library  45 

some  300  volumes  on  ornithology,  bought  of  the  same 
library  in  1898;  the  private  library  of  Professor  R.  T.  Ely, 
consisting  of  6,000  volumes  and  4,000  pamphlets,  mostly 
on  American  labor  and  social  movements;  the  private  library 
of  Mr.  C.  V.  Gerritsen  of  Amsterdam;  and  considerable 
purchases  at  auction  of  mathematical  books  from  the  libraries 
of  Boncompagni  and  Bierens  de  Haan,  and  of  zoological 
books  from  that  of  Milne-Edwards. 

The  Gerritsen  collection  is  the  largest  and  most  important 
of  these  special  purchases.  It  consists  of  some  1 8,000 
volumes  and  15,000  pamphlets  on  social  and  economic  sub- 
jects, being  especially  full  on  finance,  banking,  labor,  and 
socialism.  It  includes  a  distinct  collection  of  nearly  6,000 
volumes  and  pamphlets  on  the  social,  political,  and  legal 
status  of  woman. 

Besides  2,000  current  periodicals  which  are  kept  in  the 
Periodical  Alcove  of  the  Reading  Room,  the  Library  re- 
ceives 4,000  other  continuations,  such  as  annual  reports  and 
parts  of  books  issued  serially,  w^iich  are  placed  on  the  reg- 
ular shelves  as  soon  as  received. 

In  public  documents  the  Library  is  rather  stronger  than 
might  be  expected,  considering  the  short  time  it  has  been 
established.  It  is  a  "designated  depository"  of  the  Con- 
gressional Documents,  a  special  depository  of  the  publi- 
C3tions  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  and  a  deposi- 
tory of  all  bills,  resolves,  and  acts  of  Congress  since  1901. 
Many  state  and  "some  city  documents  have  been  acquired. 
Of  foreign  documents  it  has  all  the  Parliamentary  Papers  of 
Great  Britain  since  1896,  and  many  earlier  ones  on  economic 
subjects;  a  nearly  complete  set  of  the  Parliamentary  Papers 
of  Canada;  a  very  full  set  of  those  of  the  Netherlands;  an 
unusual  collection  of  French  documents  of  the  fifteenth  to 


46  Chicago    Libraries 

tlie  eighteenth  centuries  on  economic  subjects;  and  many 
serial  official  publications  of  Austria,  France,  and  Germany. 
Catalogues. — Much  time  and  care  are  given  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  card  catalogues,  both  public  and  official. 
Nearly  6o  per  cent  of  the  titles  are  printed  especially  for 
the  Library,  and  almost  all  the  remainder  are  obtained  from 
the  Library  of  Congress.  The  public  card  catalogue  is  in 
three  divisions:  author,  classed  subject,  and  alphabetical 
subject  index.  The  author  catalogue  is  the  usual  one,  con- 
taining besides  the  names  of  authors  those  of  editors,  trans- 
lators, and  the  subjects  of  biographies,  and  also  striking 
titles.  The  classed  subject  catalogue  is  the  one  most  con- 
sulted and  has  been  made  as  full  as  possible.  It  is  arranged 
according  to  the  Decimal  Classification  with  few  alterations 
but  many  expansions.  Under  each  final  subdivision  the 
arrangement  of  the  titles  is  chronological,  the  latest  being 
put  first.  An  unusual  and  important  development  has  been 
made  in  that  part  of  the  classification  treating  of  history  and 
geography.  Under  each  political  unit  (country,  province  or 
state,  and  town)  are  given  the  titles  of  all  works  dealing 
directly  or  chiefly  with  the  place.  These  are  subdivided 
systematically  in  accordance  with  the  first  three  figures  of 
the  main  classification.  The  result  is  not  only  that  works 
on  adjacent  places  are  brought  together,  for  example,  Illinois 
next  to  Michigan;  and  works  on  part  of  a  country  immedi- 
ately follow  those  on  the  whole  country,  for  example,  works 
on  Chicago  following  those  on  Illinois;  but  also  under  each 
place  related  subjects  are  brought  together,  for  example, 
977-3  (570)  Natural  History  of  Illinois,  977.3  (581)  Flora 
of  Illinois,  977.3  (591)  Fauna  of  Illinois.  The  alphabetical 
subject  index  is  primarily  an  index  to  the  classed  catalogue, 
and  no  entries  are  made  in  it  which  would  duplicate  exactly 


The    John    Crerar    Library  47 

any  collection  in  the  latter,  when  a  single  reference  gives 
all  the  titles,  and  no  others,  on  a  specific  subject.  On  the 
other  hand,  entries  are  made  under  headings  which  collect 
material  separated  in  the  classed  catalogue  because  of  its 
relations  to  broader  subjects  and  also  under  those  which 
separate  material  collected  in  the  classed  catalogue.  It  is 
therefore  an  alphabetical  subject  catalogue  of  all  material 
more  conveniently  consulted  through  such  a  catalogue. 

This  triple  catalogue  is  supplemented  by  a  card  catalogue 
of  serials,  a  printed  list  of  current  periodicals,  printed  lists  of 
dictionaries  and  biliographies,  several  card  indexes  on  special 
subjects,  a  considerable  collection  of  bibliographies,  and  an 
author  catalogue  of  all  books,  so  far  as  recatalogued,  in  the 
Library  of  Congress. 

The  public  catalogue  contains  the  titles  of  all  books  in 
the  Library,  and  in  addition  the  titles  of  articles  in  some 
300  periodicals.  Part  of  these  latter  are  obtained  by  co- 
operation with  four  other  American  libraries,  part  from  the 
Library  of  Congress,  and  part  by  the  independent  work 
of  The  John  Crerar  Library.  So  far  as  the  selection  has 
been  made  by  the  latter  preference  has  been  given  to  those 
containing  long  articles  likely  to  be  reprinted  and  referred 
to  as  independent  works  and  to  those  with  which  a  specialist 
is  not  so  apt  to  be  familiar  because  of  their  general  character. 

Use. — The  Library  is  open  to  readers  from  9  a.m.  to  lO 
P.M.  every  day  in  the  year,  excepting  Sundays,  but  including 
all  holidays.  A  Cloak  Room  is  provided  where  outer  gar- 
ments may  be  checked  without  charge,  but  its  use  is  not 
insisted  upon,  except  in  wet  weather  and  when  the  Reading 
Room  is  crowded.  The  Library,  however,  will  not  hold 
itself  responsible  for  articles  taken  into  the  Reading  Room 
or  left  in  the  Cloak  Room  over  night. 


48  Chicago    Libraries 

In  the  Reading  Room  is  shelved  a  collection  of  four  thou- 
sand volumes,  intended  to  include,  besides  general  works  of 
reference,  the  best  books,  both  advanced  and  popular,  on 
each  important  subject  within  the  scope  of  the  Library,  and 
a  selection  of  other  works  either  especially  interesting  or 
much  in  demand.  It  is  constantly  revised  and  kept  up  to 
date.  This  collection  may  be  consulted  without  formality, 
as  also  may  the  periodicals  within  the  Periodical  Alcove. 
Books  may  be  drawn  from  the  Stack,  and  periodicals  from 
the  Periodical  Alcove,  for  use  in  the  Reading  Room,  upon 
presentation  of  call  slips  properly  filled  out.  A  few  books, 
on  account  of  their  character,  may  be  consulted  only  upon 
registration  and  statement  of  satisfactory  reasons,  and  some 
of  great  value  or  rarity  only  in  the  presence  of  an  attendant. 

As  the  Library  is  for  reference  use  only,  no  book  is 
allowed  to  leave  the  Library  except  for  special  reasons  other 
than  the  convenience  of  the  reader,  and  then  only  if  it  is  one 
not  likely  to  be  called  for.  Such  loans  are  for  a  short  time 
and  must  be  covered  by  a  money  deposit  or  satisfactory  guar- 
antee from  another  library.  Persons  making  special 
researches  may  be  admitted  to  the  Stacks  at  the  discretion 
of  the  Librarian  upon  registration  with  the  Reference 
Librarian,  and  passes  admitting  without  registration  may  be 
granted  to  those  likely  to  make  a  prolonged  use  of  the  privi- 
lege if  they  are  personally  known  to  the  Directors  or  the 
Librarian.  The  unauthorized  removal,  mutilation,  or  mark- 
ing in  any  way  of  the  property  of  the  Library  is  absolutely 
prohibited.  The  officials  are  authorized  to  exclude  any  per- 
son of  unseemly  behavior  or  appearance,  and  any  one  who 
wilfully  violates  the  regulations. 

The  use  of  the  Library  by  the  public  has  fully  justified 
the  decisions  of  the  Directors  as  to  its  scope  and  character, 


The    John    Crerar    Library  49 

Beginning  with  eighty,  the  average  daily  attendance  has 
increased  to  279  in  1904,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
Library  is  so  situated  as  to  escape  the  notice  of  one  seeking 
it,  ratlier  than  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  passer-by. 
The  recorded  use,  which  does  not  include  books  from  the 
shelves  in  the  Reading  Room,  those  read  in  the  Stack 
Rooms,  or  periodicals  read  in  the  Periodical  Alcove,  has  in- 
creased even  more  rapidly,  and  for  1904  was  75,000  vol- 
umes and  periodicals.  The  total  use  is  about  three  times 
that  number. 

Publications. — The  Library  issues,  usually  in  May,  an 
Annual  Report  covering  the  previous  calendar  year.  Copies 
are  sent  free.  The  bibliographical  publications  are  in- 
tended primarily  for  the  readers,  but  it  is  hoped  that  as  the 
size  of  the  Library  increases  they  may  become  of  use  to 
scholars  and  libraries  elsewhere.  They  are  not  distributed 
gratuitously,  but  in  exchange  or  upon  receipt  of  a  nominal 
price  of  about  one-quarter  the  cost  of  paper  and  press  work, 
and  the  postage  if  sent  by  mail.  A  price-list  will  be  sent 
upon  application. 

Permanent  Building. — In  1901  the  Directors  look  up 
the  question  of  a  permanent  site,  and  decided  that  the 
greatest  usefulness  of  the  Library  could  be  secured  only  by 
a  central  location.  They  therefore  appealed  to  the  state 
legislature  and  to  the  city  council  for  permission  to  erect  a 
building  on  what  is  commonly  known  as  the  Lake  Front. 
This  permission  was  granted  by  the  legislature  in  "An  act 
to  authorize  The  John  Crerar  Library  to  erect  and  maintain 
a  free  public  library  on  Grant  Park,"  approved  March  29, 
1901,  and  by  the  city  council  in  an  ordinance  passed  March 
18,  1901.  The  act  provided  that  the  Library  should  procure 
the  consent  of  such  abutting  property  owners  as  might  have 


50  Chicago    Libraries 

the  right  to  object.  Most  of  these  gave  their  consent 
readily,  but  a  few  refused  through  fear  of  losing  their  right 
to  object  to  the  erection  of  other  buildings  in  the  park. 

In  January,  1 904,  the  Directors,  under  the  provisions  of 
"An  Act  concerning  free  public  libraries  in  public  parks," 
approved  May  14,  1903,  requested  permission  of  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  to  erect  and  maintain  a  monumental 
building  in  the  classical  style  upon  that  part  of  Grant  Park 
between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and  Michigan  Avenue 
and  between  Madison  and  Monroe  streets,  extended.  The 
question  of  granting  the  request  was  submitted  to  the  voters 
of  the  South  Park  District  at  the  election  of  April  5,  1904, 
and  was  favored  by  a  vote  of  50,960  to  9,329.  An  ordi- 
nance passed  by  the  Commissioners  February  15,  1905,  was 
accepted  by  the  Directors  on  February  23,  1905.  They 
propose  to  proceed  with  the  construction  of  the  building  as 
soon  as  possible.  The  site  is  about  400  by  310  feet,  and  the 
length  of  the  building  will  be  about  300  feet.  The  sketch 
plans  provide  for  the  storage  of  1,000,000  volumes  and  the 
accommodation  of  600  readers,  and  for  future  extensions 
doubling  this  capacity. 

Clement  W.  Andrews,  Librarian. 


WALTER    LOOMIS    NF.WBERRY 


THE    NEWBERRY    LIBRARY 

Walter  Loomis  Newberry. — Walter  Looniis  Newberry, 
merchant,  born  September  i8,  1804,  in  East  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut, was  educated  at  Clinton,  New  York,  and  fitted  for 
the  West  Point  Military  Academy;  but,  failing  in  the  physi- 
cal examination,  entered  commercial  life  (1822)  with  his 
brother  in  Buffalo,  New  York.  In  1828  he  moved  to  Detroit, 
Michigan,  and  there  engaged  in  the  dry- goods  business. 
During  a  successful  period  of  five  years  he  bought  lands  at 
various  points  on  the  Great  Lakes,  notably  at  Chicago, 
whither  he  came  in  1833.  Here  he  entered  into  business 
with  George  W.  Dole,  Esq.,  as  forwarding  and  commission 
merchant  and  dealer  in  general  merchandise;  subsequently 
he  became  a  banker.  In  1841  Mr.  Newberry  was  president 
of  the  Young  Men's  Association  of  Chicago,  an  organization 
which  he  was  active  in  founding,  and  to  which  he  made  the 
first  contribution  of  books.  This  association  was  the  fore- 
runner of  the  Chicago  Public  Library.  In  1843  Mr.  New- 
berry served  on  the  Board  of  Health.  In  1846  he  was  a 
member  of  the  convention  assembled  in  the  interests  of 
common  schools;  he  was  many  years  on  the  School  Board, 
and  twice  its  chairman.  In  1847  h^  was  a  director  in  the 
pioneer  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad.  In  185 1  he 
was  city  comptroller,  and,  for  a  time,  acting  mayor.  In  1857 
he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Merchants'  Loan  and 
Trust  Company,  of  which  institution  he  was  long  a  director. 
The  same  year  he  became  a  member  of  the  Chicago  His- 
torical Society.  He  was  for  six  years  president  of  the 
society.      His   death   occurred   at   sea,   November   6,    1 868. 

51 


52  Chicago    Libraries 

Sucli,  in  brief  outline,  was  the  life  of  the  founder  of  the 
Newberry  Library,  a  free  reference  library  endowed  and 
maintained  by  the  moiety  of  his  estate. 

The  Building. --The  trustees  of  the  estate,  Mr.  Eliphalet 
Wickes  Blatchford  and  Mr.  William  Henry  Bradley,  made 
partition,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  will,  in  1886  and  the 
early  part  of  1887;  and  in  July,  1887,  they  appointed  William 
Frederick  Poole,  LL.D.,  then  librarian  of  the  Chicago  Public 
Library,  librarian  of  the  newly  founded  institution.  Rooms 
were  leased  at  No.  90  La  Salle  Street,  August  i,  1887,  and 
the  purchase  of  books  began.  These  rooms  were  occupied 
until  April,  1888,  when  possession  was  taken  of  the  three- 
story-and-basement  building.  No.  338  Ontario  Street. 
There  the  collection  remained  until  the  completion.  May  I, 
1890,  of  the  temporary  building  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Oak  and  State  streets.  The  site  of  the  present  building  was 
purchased  June  28,  1889,  for  the  sum  of  $175,000;  being 
a  block  with  318  feet  frontage  on  Walton  Place,  212.3 
feet  on  Clark  Street,  318  feet  on  Oak  Street,  and  213  feet 
on  Dearborn  Avenue.  Here  stood  the  historic  (Mahlon  D.) 
Ogden  house,  the  only  house  in  the  fire  district  undestroyed 
by  the  great  fire  of  1871.  The  foundation  of  the  library 
building  was  laid  in  the  summer  of  1890;  the  superstructure 
was  begun  early  in  1 891,  and  the  building  finished  in  No- 
vember, 1893,  ^t  a  cost  of  $545,429.28. 

The  plans  were  drawn  by  Mr.  Henry  Ives  Cobb;  the 
plans  of  the  book  rooms,  providing  for  departmental  shelv- 
ing, after  sketches  prepared  by  the  librarian.  Dr.  Poole. 
The  style  of  architecture  is  Spanish  Romanesque;  the 
material  is  Connecticut  granite.  The  partition  walls  are 
of  brick  and  tile,  the  floors  of  red  English  tile  and  marble. 
The  present  building,  with  its  imposing  fayade,  looking  south 


The    Newberry    Library  53 

on  Washington  Square,  is  but  one  face  of  the  edifice  called 
for  by  the  plans.  When,  in  after  years,  the  structure  is 
completed,  it  will  occupy  the  entire  square,  leaving  a  central 
court  measuring  approximately  180  by  60  feet. 

On  April  12,  1 892,  Mr.  Blatchford,  sole  surviving  and 
acting  trustee,  conveyed  the  Library  property,  estimated  at 
$2,624,918.48,  to  the  following  board  of  thirteen  Trustees: 
Honorable  George  E.  Adams,  Mr.  Edward  E.  Ayer,  Mr. 
Eliphalet  W.  Blatchford,  Mr.  Edward  S.  Ishani,  General 
Alexander  C.  McClurg,  Mr.  Franklin  MacVeagh,  Mr. 
William  Harrison  Bradley,  Mr.  Daniel  Goodwin,  Mr. 
Franklin  H.  Head,  General  Walter  C.  Newberry,  Judge 
Lambert  Tree,  Mr.  Henry  J.  Willing,  Mr.  John  P.  Wilson. 
Since  this  date  the  Library  has  lost  six  of  the  original  trus- 
tees, Messrs.  Isham,  Willing,  McClurg,  Goodwin,  deceased; 
and  Messrs.  Bradley  and  MacVeagh,  resigned.  Their 
places  have  been  filled  by  Messrs.  David  B.  Jones,  Bryan 
Lathrop,  Horace  H.  Martin,  George  Manierre,  John  A. 
Spoor,  Moses  J.  Wentworth. 

The  original  intent  was  to  make  the  Newberry  Library  a 
general  reference  collection;  but  the  scheme  of  co-operation 
entered  into  with  the  John  Crerar  Library  in  1896,  involving 
the  transfer  of  the  Newberry  books  relating  to  Science  and 
the  Useful  Arts  (7,800  volumes  and  pamphlets)  to  the 
younger  institution,  modifies  to  this  extent  the  initial  design. 
If  the  Newberry  be  now  a  class  library,  it  is  a  class  library 
closed  only  against  extensive  collections  devoted  to  certain 
well-defined  branches  of  learning  grouped  under  the  broad 
and  elastic  term.  Science.  Naturally,  if  not  necessarily, 
the  departments   are   at  varying  stages  of  development. 

Department   of    Medicine The   Newberry   Library    is 

indebted  to  the  medical   profession  of  Chicago  for  generous 


54  CiricAGO    Libraries 

aid  in  the  form  of  advice  and  contributions  of  books  and 
pamphlets.  Specially  is  it  indebted  to  Dr.  Nicholas  Senn 
for  his  munificent  gift,  the  Senn  Collection.  The  tirst  gift 
from  Dr.  Senn  was  the  library — surgical  works  from  the 
Middle  Ages  down — of  Dr.  Wilhelm  B.  Baum,  of  G^ittin- 
gen;  the  second  was  the  famous  collection — chiefly  physio- 
logical—  of  Dr.  Emil  Du  Bois-Reymond,  of  Berlin.  To 
these  collections  Dr.  Senn  has  added  largely,  from  time  to 
time,  including  among  his  gifts  the  original  manuscripts  of 
over  one  hundred  works  from  his  own  hand. 

Department  of  History.  — The  department  of  history, 
including  biography  and  travel,  contains  many  of  the  great 
collections,  basic  works  and  political  documents  requisite  for 
the  study  of  universal  history.  In  works  relating  to  America 
its  strength  is  exceptional.  As  any  '^ook  in  Mr.  Edward  E. 
Ayer's  collection  of  Americana  can  be  consulted  at  the  New- 
berry Library,  on  twenty-four  hours"  notice,  the  entire  Ayer 
collection  is  at  the  disposition  of  students  in  this  department. 
While  the  Ayer  collection  is  essentially  ethnological,  devoted 
to  the  history,  character,  manners  and  customs,  institutions, 
arts  and  crafts,  myths,  religions  and  languages  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  it  necessarily  covers  the  principal  sources 
of  information  in  regard  to  the  discovery,  exploration,  con- 
quest and  colonization  of  the  North  American  continent. 
In  Indian  history,  particularly  the  history  of  the  relations 
between  the  Indians  and  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  the  Ayer  library  is  very  strong,  containing  over 
2,300  assorted  Congressional  Documents,  as  well  as  the 
complete  reports  of  the  Commissioners  of  Indian  Affairs  and 
of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners.  The  whole  is  sup- 
plemented and  illustrated  by  manuscript  documents,  treaties, 
letters,    Indian    drawings  on    maguey   paper  and   skins,  and 


PQ 
I— I 

Pi 

w 


r 


The    Newberry    Library  55 

by  Indian  portraits, —  engravings,  water-colors,  oil-paintings, 
and  photographs.  Since  1898  the  scope  of  the  collection 
has  been  extended  to  include  Hawaii  and  the  Philippine 
Islands.  With  reference  to  the  Philippines,  it  already  con- 
tains most  of  the  early  and  important  works  and  a  number 
of  unpublished  manuscripts.  It  has  also  a  good  working  col- 
lection of  linguistics, —  grammars  and  dictionaries  in  both 
the  Hawaiian  and  Philippine  dialects,  as  well  as  text- 
books, religious  treatises  and  a  large  number  of  Tagalog 
corridas. 

The  genealogic  division  of  the  department  of  history  is, 
at  present,  noteworthy  rather  for  the  analysis  of  its  contents 
than  for  the  size  of  the  collection.  It  has  a  practically 
exhaustive  index,  presented  to  the  public  in  some  700 
folio  volumes  of  typewritten  Indexer  Books.  This  division 
draws  to  it  in  considerable  numbers  patrons  living  at  a  dis- 
tance. 

Department  of  Philosophy.  —The  department  of  philos- 
ophy, a  good  working  collection,  includes  philosophy  proper, 
religion,  sociology  and  education. 

Art  and  Letters. — The  art  collection  consists  of  works 
on  aesthetics  and  the  history  of  art,  including  architecture, 
painting  and  sculpture,  together  with  biographies  of  artists. 
Numismatics  is  classed  here,  also  ceramics,  the  history  of 
costume  and  the  various  arts  and  crafts.  The  books  deal 
rather  with  completed  work  illustrating  the  history  and 
development  of  the  several  orders  of  art  than  with  construc- 
tive and  technical  processes.  There  are  many  periodicals 
covering,  as  do  the  books,  the  wide  field  from  archaeological 
research  to  contemporary  arts  and  crafts. 

The  department  of  letters  is  a  well-equipped  and  efficient 
collection  of  imaginative  literature,  and  of  history  and  criti- 


56  Chicago    Libraries 

cism  dealing  with  the  periods  and  forms  of  its  development. 
The  lives  of  authors' are  shelved  here,  also  periodicals  and 
the  publications  of  learned  societies  devoted  to  the  study  of 
literature.  While  most  of  the  foreign  books  arc  in  German, 
French,  Spanish,  or  Italian,  many  other  languages  are  repre- 
sented. 

Department  of  Philology.  The  department  of  philology 
was  suddenly  brought  into  prommence,  June,  1901,  by  the 
acquisition  of  the  famous  library — 16,500  volumes  and 
pamphlets — of  Prince  Louis  Lucien  Bonaparte;  a  collection  of 
basic  data  for  the  study  of  the  nature  and  the  history  of  man 
as  developed  through  speech.  The  primary  aim  was  to 
bring  together  specimens  of  all  the  languages  and  dialects 
of  Europe;  but  it  was  soon  heightened  to  the  acquisition  of 
some  specimen  of  every  known  language  possessing  even  the 
most  rudimentary  literature. 

Department  of  Music — In  1889  the  Library  secured  the 
musical  collection  of  Count  Pio  Resse,  of  Florence,  con- 
sisting largely  of  works  of  Italian  writers  on  the  theory  and 
the  history  of  music.  To  the  Resse  collection  have  been 
added,  from  time  to  time,  the  orchestral  and  vocal  scores  of 
the  great  composers,  supplemental  works  on  the  history  and 
the  theory  of  music  and  on  musical  instruments,  together 
with  biographies  of  musicians,  dictionaries,  encyclopedias 
and  periodicals. 

Other  Collections. — To  the  foregoing  collections  are  to 
be  added  (l)  the  elegantly  bound  Clarke  collection  of  works 
— 1,453  volumes  and  429  pamphlets — on  fish,  fish-culture 
and  angling;  (2)  the  collection  of  works  on  Egypt;  (3)  the 
Bailey  collection  of  works  on  China;  (4)  the  Blatchford  col- 
lection of  works  on  libraries  and  library  buildings;  (5)  the 
collection  of  English  and  American  hymn-books. 


The    Newberry    Library  57 

Department  of  Bibliography. — Of  the  department  of 
books  about  books  it  need  be  said  only  that  it  is,  of  neces- 
sity, one  of  the  strongest  in  the  Library,  adequate  to  the 
stringent  and  continuous  demand  made  upon  its  resources. 

The  Museum. — The  Museum,  opened  January,  1897, 
presents  as  its  special  feature  the  choicer  items  of  the 
Probasco  collection,  about  1,200  volumes  of  masterpieces  in 
the  arts  of  calligraphy,  illumination,  printing,  illustration 
and  binding.  The  arrangement  is  chronological,  exhibiting 
the  origin  and  development  of  the  book.  The  manuscripts, 
numbering  over  150,  are  written  for  the  most  part  on  vel- 
lum or  parchment,  and  are  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation. 
To  Greece  belongs  the  oldest  and  rarest  of  the  manuscripts, 
the  Evangelia  Greece — probably  of  the  twelfth  century  — 
with  its  distinct  black-lettered  script,  rubrications,  and  four 
miniatures  of  the  Evangelists.  Among  the  modern  manu- 
scripts are  poems  of  Burns,  Bloomfield  and  Thomson,  and 
sermons  of  Cotton  Mather  and  Increase  Mather. 

The  Museum  has  the  four  Shakespeare  folios,  1623, 
1632,  1664,  1685. 

Early  Printing. — The  Museum  contains  choice  works  of 
the  old  m.asters  of  typography,  including  over  three  hundred 
incunabula.  Among  these  are  the  Latin  Bible  printed  in 
Strasburg,  1466,  by  Heinrich  Eggestein,  and  Cicero's  De 
Amicitia  of  the  same  year,  printed  in  Cologne  by  its  first 
typographer,  Ulrich  Zell. 

Early  Engraving. — Specimens  of  first  attempts  at 
engraving  are  to  be  found  in  such  books  as  the  old  German 
volume,  Theurdanck,  the  copy  of  Roswitha,  the  1545 
Aldine  edition  of  H ypnerotomachia  Poliphili,  and  the  early 
books  of  emblems. 

Binding Many  of  the  1,200  volumes  in  the   Museum 


58  Chicago    Libraries 

are  excellent  specimens  of  bibliopegy,  dating  from  the 
fifteenth  century  to  the  present  time.  Among  the  books 
from  Italian  binderies  are:  Plinius  Secundus,  Ilistoria 
ihiluralc,  Venetia,  1548,  bound  in  brown  calf  after  the  style 
of  Thom.  Maoli;  two  books  from  the  library  of  Jean 
Grolier,  both  having  his  motto  on  the  cover,  and  one  con- 
taining a  manuscript  note  and  autograph. 

Lecture-Rooms. — The  Newberry  Library  has  two  lecture- 
rooms,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  lOO  persons  each. 

Bindery. — The  Newberry  Library  maintains  its  own 
bindery.  The  Rudolph  method  of  pamphlet  binding  is  pecu- 
liar to  the  institution.  Extracts  from  periodical  publications, 
fugitive  essays,  and  other  works  presenting  a  variety  of 
subjects  in  one  volume,  are  treated  as  collections  of  pam- 
phlets. Scattered  writings,  properly  falling  under  one  head, 
are  bound  securely  and  economically;  and  at  the  same  time, 
room  is  left  for  continuous  interplacement.  Single  pam- 
phlets are  also  inclosed  in  cardboard. 

The  Catalogue. — The  catalogue  also  is  a  distinctive 
feature.  While  it  is  a  "dictionary"  catalogue,  the  entries, 
instead  of  being  made  on  cards,  are  made  on  narrow  slips  of 
pasteboard  inserted  in  card-holders  bound  into  expansive 
Tndexer  Books  and  in  a  series  of  card-holders  revolving  over 
two  drums.  The  Indexer  Books,  constructed  on  the  same 
principle  as  the  Rudolph  binder,  are  manufactured  in  the 
bindery.  The  Indexer  Books  are  used  for  the  shelf-list, 
duplicate  copies  of  which  serve  as  finding-lists  of  the  various 
departments.  The  classification  used  is  Cutter's  Expansive 
Classification,  adopted  with  some  modifications,  specially  in 
the  notation  of  class  and  book  numbers. 

Shelving  Capacity — The  shelving  capacity  of  the  pres- 
ent building  is  about  one  million  volumes.     When  the  build- 


The    Newberry    Library  59 

ing  is  completed  it  will  hold,  in  round  numbers,  four  million 
volumes. 

The  Healy  Portraits. — The  forty-six  portraits  in  oil,  on 
the  walls,  were  painted  by  the  late  George  Peter  Alexander 
Healy,  and  presented  by  him  in  1886. 

Inter-Library  Loans. — While  the  Newberry  Library  is  a 
non-circulating  library,  exception  is  made  in  favor  of  univer- 
sity professors  and  authors  living  at  a  distance.  On  their 
request  books  are  sent  to  librarians  in  charge  of  libraries  near 
the  residence  of  the  applicant. 

On  January  i,  1905,  the  Library  contained  202,727 
volumes  and  70,965  pamphlets,  maps,  manuscripts,  etc.,  a 
total  of  273,692;  the  proportion  of  books  in  foreign  Ian 
guages  to  those  in  the  English  language  being  56%  as  against 
44%.  The  number  of  current  periodicals  on  file  was  1,182. 
The  patronage  of  the  Library  averaged,  for  the  year  1904, 
282  visitors  per  day.  The  Library  is  open  from  9  a.m.  to 
10  F.  M.  every  day  in  the  year  except  Sundays,  New  Year's 
Day,  Decoration  Day,  Fourth  of  July,  Thanksgiving,  Christ- 
mas Eve  and  Christmas  Day,  New  Year's  Eve.  Closed 
also  during  the  first  two  weeks  in  August. 

Trustees  of  the  Newberry  Library,  1905.  George  E. 
Adams,  Second  Vice-President,  Edward  E.  Ayer,  Elipha- 
let  W.  Blatchford,  President,  Franklin  H.  Head,  David 
B.  Jones,  Bryan  Lathrop,  George  Manierre,  Horace  H. 
Martin,  Walter  C.  Newberry,  John  A.  Spoor,  Lambert 
Tree,  First  Vice-President,  Moses  Wentworth,  John  P. 
Wilson. 

Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. — The  present 
Secretary,  Mr.  Jesse  L.  Moss,  took  office  December,  1898. 

The  Librarians.— The  first  Librarian,  William  Frederick 
Poole,    LL.D.,    held    office    from    1887   until    his    death,    in 


6o  Chicago    Libraries 

1894.  Mr.  John  Vance  Cheney,  the  present  Librarian, 
resigned  the  librarianship  of  the  San  Francisco  Free  Public 
Library  to  take  charge  of  the  Newberry  Library,  December 
I,  1894.  Mr.  Alexander  Joseph  Rudolph  entered  the  service 
of  the  Library  on  the  same  date,  as  First  Assistant  Libra- 
rian. J.  V.  Cheney,  Librarian. 


THE    CHICAGO    PUBLIC    LIBRARY 

The  Chicago  Pubhc  Library  was  estabhshed  under  the 
lUinois  Library  Act  in  1872.  The  Hbrary  owes  its  origin  to 
a  movement  started  in  England  after  the  great  fire  by 
Thomas  Hughes,  the  famous  author  of  "Tom  Brown's 
School  Days."  Mr.  Hughes  and  those  associated  with  him 
made  an  appeal  to  authors,  publishers,  scientific  societies, 
and  literary  institutions  of  Great  Britain  which  resulted  in 
the  donation  of  about  7,000  volumes.  These  books,  each 
of  which  bore  a  book-plate  stating  that  it  was  presented 
to  the  city  of  Chicago  toward  the  formation  of  a  free 
Hbrary,  after  the  great  fire  of  187 1,  as  a  mark  of  English 
sympathy,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Chicago  Public 
Library.     When  the  donation  was  received  in  Chicago  in 

1872,  the  books  were  temporarily  stored  in  the  "Tank," 
which  was  attached  to  the  temporary  city  hall  building  on 
the  corner  of  Adams  and  La  Salle  streets.     On  January  I, 

1873,  a  reading  room  was  opened  in  the  third  story  of  the 
City  Hall,  adjacent  to  and  connected  with  the  "Tank."  Mr. 
W.  B.  Wickersham,  who  had  been  appointed  secretary  on  July 
20,  1872,  was  placed  in  charge.  On  October  25,  1873,  Dr. 
William  F.  Poole  was  appointed  librarian,  which  position 
he  held  until  August  I,  1887,  when  he  resigned  to  take 
charge  of  the  Newberry  Library.  Mr.  Frederick  H.  Hild, 
the  present  librarian,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  on 
October  15,  1887. 

On  March  16,  1874,  the  library  was  removed  to  the 
southeast  corner  of  Madison  street  and  Wabash  avenue, 
where  the  circulating  department  was  opened   May  r,  1874, 

61 


62  Chicago    Libraries 


with  17,355  volumes.  On  May  2-j ,  1875,  the  library  was 
removed  to  the  third  and  fourth  floors  of  the  Dickey  build- 
ing, on  the  southwest  corner  of  Lake  and  Dearborn  streets, 
where  it  remained  until  May  24,  1886,  when  it  again  found 
new  quarters  in  the  fourth  story  of  the  City  Hall,  to  accom- 
modate its  120,000  volumes.  Here  it  remained  until  its  re- 
moval in  September,  1897,  to  its  permanent  home  in  the 
new  building. 

The  Chicago  Public  Library  building  occupies  the  rec- 
tangular site  formerly  known  as  Dearborn  Park,  bounded  by 
Michigan  avenue,  Washington  street,  Garland  court,  and 
Randolph  street,  its  longest  fac;ade  being  on  the  avenue, 
with  a  court  in  the  rear  for  future  extensions.  Its  extreme 
dimensions  are  3525^  by  1461/3  feet  and  the  top  of  its  cornice 
is  90  feet  above  the  sidewalk,  exclusive  of  the  crowning 
balustrade.  It  contains  three  principal  stories  with  two 
intermediate  floors  and  a  basement. 

The  exterior  is  of  Bedford  limestone  with  a  granite  base. 
The  foundation  rests  on  piles,  the  tops  of  which  are  driven 
to  an  average  depth  of  74  feet  below  the  sidewalk.  The 
walls  are  of  solid  masonry  construction,  and  the  floors  are 
of  steel  beams  and  hollow  tile  arches.  The  building  is  not 
only  fire-proof,  but  is  practically  incombustible. 

The  general  treatment  of  the  exterior  of  the  building  is  a 
harmonious  combination  of  various  styles  of  architecture, 
the  lower  part  being  in  the  neo-Greek  style  with  wide  arched 
windows,  and  the  upper  part  in  Grecian  style,  with  pillars 
and  columns  separated  by  windows.  The  entablature  is  of 
pronounced  Roman  character,  with  heavy  projecting  garlands 
and  lions'  heads  sculptured  on  the  frieze.  The  two  entrances 
to  the  building  vary  greatly  in  style,  the  Washington  street 
entrance  being  a  wide  arched  portal  leading  directly  to  the 


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The    Chicago    Public    Library  63 

grand  staircase  hall,  while  the  Randolph  street  entrance  is  a 
portico  with  massive  Greek  columns  before  the  three  door- 
ways. The  southern  entrance  to  the  building  leads  directly 
to  the  grand  staircase  hall  of  nearly  white  statuary  Carrara 
marble,  illuminated  by  sparkling  inlays  and  panels  of  glass 
mosaics,  mother-of-pearl,  and  shells.  The  mosaic  floors  are 
composed  of  light  and  dark  green  marble  and  a  great  bronze 
relief  of  the  seal  of  the  city  of  Chicago  is  embedded  in  the 
floor  at  the  foot  of  the  staircase.  A  massive  elliptical  arch 
crowns  the  middle  of  the  hall  between  two  pillars  that  sup- 
port the  two  branches  of  the  upper  staircase.  The  ascent 
is  by  means  of  wide  marble  steps  with  balconies  at  easy 
distances,  and  the  delivery  room  is  entered  by  three  open 
archways  at  the  upper  landing.  The  walls  of  the  hallway 
at  this  landing  are  of  Carrara  marble  with  inlaid  lines  of 
glass  mosaic  and  a  frieze  of  the  same  mosaic  fully  six  feet 
high  entirely  around  the  room.  Panels  of  rich  mosaic  design 
with  suitable  inscriptions  and  the  names  of  famous  authors 
are  set  in  the  walls. 

The  delivery  room  extends  across  the  entire  width  of  the 
building  with  two  great  windows  at  each  end,  and  is  48  by 
134  feet.  Over  the  center  of  the  room  rises  a  large  dome 
of  richly  colored  glass.  The  wings  of  the  delivery  room  are 
wainscoted  in  white  Carrara  marble,  above  which  extends  a 
frieze  of  glass  mosaic  containing  large  panels  of  green  serpen- 
tine marble  inlaid  with  white  inscriptions  in  ten  different 
languages  from  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  to  modern  charac- 
ters. Four  large  stack  rooms  are  located  next  to  the  de- 
livery room.  These  have  shelf  room  for  about  350,000 
volumes,  and  are  equipped  with  book  stacks  of  iron  and 
steel  construction  with  glass  floors.  On  this  floor  of  the 
building   are    also  located  the  administrative  rooms  of    the 


64  Chicago    Libraries 


library.  The  cataloguers'  rooms  are  on  the  entresol  floor 
below. 

On  the  floor  above  the  delivery  room  are  located  the 
reference  and  reading  rooms.  The  reference  room  is  38 
by  138  feet,  is  30  feet  high,  and  will  accommodate  225 
readers.  Adjoining  this  room  on  the  south  are  the  public 
card  catalogue  room  and  the  study  room  for  special 
students;  also  a  three-story  stack  room  for  the  storage  of 
bound  periodicals.  On  the  top  floor  at  the  south  end  of 
the  building  are  the  directors'  rooms  and  the  rooms  for 
art  books.  The  great  reading  room  adjoins  the  refer- 
ence room  on  the  north  and  will  accommodate  450  readers 
at  a  time.     Its  dimensions  are  55  by  142  feet. 

The  Grand  Army  Memorial  Hall  Association  occupies 
about  16,000  square  feet  of  space  on  the  second  floor  at 
the  north  end  of  the  building.  Here  are  located  Memorial 
Hall  and  a  large  assembly  room  devoted  to  the  use  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic;  also  a  number  of  minor  rooms 
for  various  purposes  of  the  organization. 

The  library  building  contains  a  most  complete  mechan- 
ical equipment  for  the  generation  of  light,  heat,  and  power. 
The  devices  for  washing  the  air  used  in  ventilating  the 
building  and  the  apparatus  for  distributing  the  same  are  the 
most  modern  and  up  to  date.  The  elevators  in  the  building 
are  operated  by  electricity  generated  on  the  premises,  and 
there  is  special  provision  for  protection  against  damage  from 
fire  which  might  brcTk  out  in  the  buildings  west  and  north 
of  the  library. 

The  cost  of  the  building  was  about  $2,000,000,  which 
includes  th*e  furniture,  book  stacks,  and  machinery.  To 
the    resident    member  of    the  firm    of    Shepley,  Rutan   & 


The    Chicago    Public    Library  65 

Coolidge,  Mr.  Charles  A.  Coolidge,  is  chiefly  due  the  credit 
for  the  design  and  construction  of  the  building  and  for  its 
decorations. 

On  April  I,  1905,  the  library  contained  302,666  vol- 
umes and  about  50,000  unbound  pamphlets.  The  annual 
revenue  from  all  sources  for  the  maintenance  and  operation 
of  the  library  is  about  $260,000.  The  number  of  em- 
ployees in  all  the  departments  is  173. 

How  to  Become  a  Book-borrower. — The  right  of  draw- 
ing books  from  the  Public  Library  belongs  to  all  who  reside 
in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  also  to  those  who  make  their 
homes  in  the  suburbs  within  the  limits  of  Cook  County  and 
are  regularly  employed  in  the  city.  In  order  to  become  a 
book-borrower  it  is  only  necessary  to  file  an  application  giving 
name  and  residence  of  the  applicant  and  bearing  the  signa- 
ture of  a  second  person  who  must  be  an  actual  resident  of 
the  city,  appearing  as  such  in  the  latest  city  directory.  This 
person  becomes  the  "guarantor"  to  the  library  for  the 
proper  observance  of  the  library  regulations  on  the  part  of 
the  applicant.  These  regulations  merely  provide  that  books 
drawn  for  home  use  must  be  returned  within  the  stated 
period  and  must  not  be  defaced  or  injured.  It  is  therefore 
a  simple  matter  to  find  a  friend,  neighbor,  or  employer  who 
will  co-operate  to  this  extent  with  any  one  desirous  of  using 
the  Public  Library. 

""^  The  card  which  is  issued  to  the  applicant,  after  due 
examination  of  his  application,  entitles  him  to  draw  books, 
which  may  be  retained  for  two  weeks,  and  may  be  renewed 
for  the  same  period.  The  card  remains  in  effect  for  three 
years  from  the  date  of  registration,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
term  a  new  application  must  be  filed. 


66 


Chicago    Lijiraries 


What  the  Library  has  to  Offer.  The  300,000  vol- 
umes which  are  contained  in  the  Chicago  Public  Library  may 
be  broadly  classified  as  follows: 


History,  biography,  and  travels  . 

Fine  and  practical  arts,  and  sciences   . 

Poetry,  drama,  essays 

Mental  and  moral  science,  religion 

Language,  literature,  bibliography 

Political  and  social    science 

Dictionaries,  encyclopedias,  periodicals 

Government  and  state  publications 

English  prose  fiction,  and  juvenile 

Books  in  foreign  languages 

Books  for  the  blind       .... 


40,000 
30,000 
11,000 
11,000 
13,000 

8,000 
43,000 
21,000 
70,000 
50,000 

1,000 


A  somewhat  closer  analysis  will  reveal  the  especial 
strength  of  its  collections  in  certain  departments,  developed 
to  a  higher  degree  of  completeness  than  the  rest,  without, 
however,  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the  general  library. 

Foremost  among  these  is  the  department  of  American 
history,  general  and  local,  American  travel  and  biography, 
and  the  whole  range  of  topics  included  in  the  term  "Ameri- 
cana," comprising  accounts  of  early  voyages  of  discovery 
and  exploration,  narratives  of  early  settlers,  the  history  of 
the  American  Indians,  and  the  history  of  all  sections  of  the 
country,  of  states,  counties,  and  cities,  together  with  a  very 
large  and  complete  collection  of  Civil  War  literature,  includ- 
ing the  regimental  histories  of  hundreds  of  the  volunteer 
regiments. 

Another  department  to  which  particular  attention  has 
been  given  is  that  of  the  fne  and  industrial  arts,  embracing 
painting  and  sculpture,  theory  and  practice  of  the  ans, 
architecture,  design,  decoration  and  ornament,  tapestry, 
furniture,   costume,   ceramics,    photography,  illumination  of 


The    Chicago    Public    Library  67 

manuscripts,  printing,  illustration  and  bookbinding,  and 
many  other  branches  of  the  arts  and  crafts.  Reproduced  in 
sumptuous  volumes,  preserving  all  their  original  beauty  of 
color  and  detail,  the  works  of  the  masters  are  here  made 
available  for  the  guidance  of  teacher  and  student,  and  the 
inspiration  of  craftsman  and  amateur. 

Almost  equally  strong  are  the  resources  of  the  Public 
Library  in  the  departments  of  the  useful  arts,  technology, 
natural  science,  and  kindred  subjects,  particular  attention 
being  given  to  the  popular  side  of  these  studies,  such  as  the 
new  field  of  "nature  study,"  including  the  bird,  flower,  and 
animal  books  at  present  so  much  in  demand. 

In  English  drama,  also,  the  library  is  especially  rich, 
while  its  Shakespeare  literature  is  so  voluminous  and  impor- 
tant that  it  was  recently  made  the  subject  of  a  special 
bulletin,  no  less  than  fifty  editions  of  that  author's  complete 
works  being  found  in  the  library. 

Worthy  of  mention,  too,  are  the  periodical  section  (30,- 
000  volumes),  comprising  many  volumes  and  complete  sets 
of  great  value  and  rarity,  and  the  foreign  section,  with 
its  large  and  well-chosen  collection  of  representative  writers, 
among  which  the  literatures  of  eleven  European  peoples  are 
included. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  in  developing  these  special 
collections,  the  symmetry  and  usefulness  of  the  library  as 
a  general  repository  has  not  been  allowed  to  suffer.  Keep- 
ing abreast  of  the  times  and  the  latest  literature  in  all  depart- 
ments, it  aims  to  serve  all  its  patrons  impartially  and  to  be 
able  to  offer  something  to  every  one  who  comes  in  good 
faith  to  use  and  profit  by  its  treasures. 

Drawing  Books  for  Home  Use.  -  Having  obtained  a  card 
after  the  manner  described,  it  is  necessary  to  become  famil- 


68  Chicago    Libraries 

iar  with  the  method  by  whicli  books  may  be  (h'awn  for  liome 
use.  This  is  exceedingly  simple,  and  requires  little  expla- 
nation. 

As  guides  to  the  literature  on  its  shelves,  the  library 
publishes  finding  lists,  each  embracing  the  works  in  a  par- 
ticular class  or  group  of  classes,  e.g.,  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, Fiction  and  Juvenile,  German  Literature,  French 
Literature,  etc.  These  finding  lists,  which  may  be  consulted 
at  the  main  library  and  at  the  stations,  or  may  be  purchased 
at  prices  ranging  from  five  to  fifteen  cents,  give  the  authors 
and  titles  of  the  books,  in  alphabetical  order  under  each  sub- 
head, together  with  a  letter  and  number  annexed  to  each 
title,  which  is  the  library  shelf  mark  for  the  book  in  question. 
Having  made  a  selection  of  books  which  one  desires  to  read, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  copy  the  letter  and  number  (not  the 
author's  name  or  title)  on  a  slip,  which  is  handed  to  a  clerk 
in  the  delivery  room  and  from  which  the  first  book  found 
is  brought,  and  charged  to  the  borrower  by  means  of  his 
borrower's  card,  which  is  stamped  with  the  date  of  issue. 
Books  so  drawn  may  be  retained  for  fourteen  days.  If  at 
the  end  of  that  period  the  borrower  desires  the  use  of  the 
same  book  for  a  longer  time,  he  may  have  it  "renewed"  by 
presenting  his  card  at  the  receiving  desk  or  at  the  nearest 
delivery  station,  and  having  it  re-stamped,  when  the  book 
may  be  kept  for  a  further  period  of  two  weeks.  But  a  fine 
of  three  cents  per  day  is  charged  against  every  borrower 
who  retains  a  book  longer  than  the  stated  period  without 
having  secured  a  renewal.  It  should  also  be  noted  that 
there  are  some  books,  recently  purchased  and  in  great 
demand,  which  may  be  kept  for  seven  days  only,  and  may 
not  be  renewed.  They  bear  a  label  to  this  effect  on  the 
front  cover. 


The    Chicago    Public    Library  6g 

The  Delivery  Stations.— Mention  has  been  made  of  the 
deUvery  stations,  by  means  of  which  the  Hbrary  reaches 
many  readers  in  remote  sections  of  the  city,  who  could 
scarcely  be  supplied  at  the  main  library.  These  stations  are 
established  in  small  shops,  under  the  care  of  the  shop-keep- 
ers, who  are  paid  for  their  services.  The  service  is  inter- 
changeable; a  borrower,  having  drawn  a  book  at  the  main 
library  may  return  it  at  a  station,  and  vice  versa,  or  he  may 
draw  books  at  one  station  and  return  them  at  another. 
Order  lists  for  books  may  be  left  at  any  delivery  station  by 
any  card-holder.  These  lists  are  sent  to  the  library  and 
books  are  returned  by  wagons  making  daily  deliveries.  In 
certain  districts  it  is  possible  for  a  borrower  to  leave  his 
order  list  at  the  station  nearest  his  home  in  the  morning  and 
call  for  a  book  in  the  afternoon,  and  it  is  expected  that,  with 
the  development  of  the  system,  similar  quick  service  shall 
apply  to  all  stations.  New  c^rds  are  also  issued  through  the 
stations,  and  finding  lists  are  on  file  to  aid  patrons  in  making 
their  selections.  There  are  at  present  seventy  delivery 
stations  maintained  at  convenient  points  throughout  the 
city,  from  Rogers  Park  on  the  north,  to  South  Chicago  and 
west  to  Austin.  This  service  is  of  course  entirely  free  to 
card-holders. 

The  Reference  Department. — Co-ordinate  with  the 
delivery  and  stations  departments,  whose  mission  it  is  to 
supply  books  for  home  reading,  is  the  reference  depart- 
ment, designed  to  serve  and  assist  readers  who  come  to 
pursue  their  studies  within  the  library  building.  This 
department  controls  the  entire  resources  of  the  library. 
No  card  or  guaranty  of  any  sort  is  required,  the  only  con- 
dition being  that  books  shall  not  be  taken  from  the  room. 
All  books  which  circulate  for  home  use  may  be  used  here, 


yo  Chicago    Libraries 

and  in  addition  nianv  thousands  of  volumes  not  adapted  to 
general  circulation,  by  reason  of  their  size,  costliness,  or 
rarity,  are  at  the  free  disposal  of  the  patron  of  this  depart- 
ment. A  staff  of  trained  assistants  is  ready  to  lend  him 
aid,  whether  his  wants  involve  the  selection  of  a  course  of 
reading",  the  preparation  of  an  essay  or  thesis  for  the  school, 
the  study-class  or  the  club,  or  merely  the  answer  to  a  single 
question,  the  source  of  a  quotation,  or  the  portrait  of  a 
celebrity.  But  most  of  all  the  reference  department  offers 
opportunities  to  the  enterprising  student  tor  acquiring  such 
familiarity  with  books  and  with  bibliographical  tools  and 
"books  about  books"  as  will  quickly  render  him  independent 
of  the  services  of  the  staff,  and  inspire  him  with  a  degree  of 
self-confidence  and  satisfaction  which  will  add  greatly  to 
the  pleasure  and  profit  of  his  studies. 

On  the  open  shelves  which  line  the  entire  west  wall  of 
the  reference  room  he  will  find,  freely  at  his  disposal,  some 
2,000  volumes  of  reference  books,  comprising  the  stand- 
ard dictionaries  and  handbooks  in  all  departments  of 
knowledge,  general  encyclopaedias  in  English,  French,  Ger- 
man, Spanish,  Scandinavian,  and  Bohemian,  dictionaries  of 
the  classical  and  of  all  the  modern  languages,  guides  to  his- 
tory, literature,  science,  art,  and  religion,  biographical 
dictionaries,  directories  of  the  principal  cities,  and  many 
other  works  of  general  information.  In  addition  he  will  soon 
learn  to  use  and  value  the  many  bibliographies,  readers' 
aids,  and  indexes  helpful  to  the  student,  which  may  here  be 
consulted.  With  the  idea  of  directing  his  attention  to  this 
most  useful  class  of  time  and  labor  saving  works,  the  titles 
of  a  few  of  the  most  comprehensive  may  be  mentioned. 

The  most  inclusive  are  the  annual  lists  of  all  books  pub- 
lished in  various  countries.     The  American. Catalogue  and 


The    Chicago    Public    Library  71 

its  predecessors  cover  this  field  for  American  publications; 
the  United  States  Catalogaie  gives  a  list  of  all  American 
books  now  in  print.  The  English  Catalogue,  1835  to  date, 
Kayser's  Biicherlexicon,  1750-1900,  and  Lorenz's  Catalogue 
General  de  la  Librarie  Frangaise,  1840-1900,  with  their 
continuations,  are  the  corresponding  publications  for  Eng- 
land, Germany,  and  France,  respectively.  The  immense 
mass  of  valuable  matter  currently  appearing  in  periodicals  is 
admirably  indexed  and  digested  in  the  well-known  Poole's 
Index,  covering  the  period  from  1802  to  1896,  and  continued 
in  the  Annual  Literary  Index,  the  Cumulative  Index,  and 
the  Readers'  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature,  which  keeps  the 
index  closely  up  to  date.  The  A.  L.  A.  Index  to  General 
Literature  is  a  useful  key  to  books  made  uo  of  collections  of 
articles  upon  many  subjects,  and  as  a  help  in  finding  a  fugi- 
tive essay  or  sketch.  It  gives  references  to  countless  titles, 
dealing  with  a  variety  of  topics,  hidden  in  the  collected 
works  of  writers  or  in  volumes  of  miscellaneous  essays. 
Sonnenschein's  "Best  Books"  and  "A  Reader's  Guide" 
are  excellent  aids  in  the  choice  of  books.  Larned's  "Litera- 
ture of  American  History"  is  a  bibliography  of  American 
historical  literature,  annotated  and  evaluated  by  a  group  of 
experts,  and  published  by  the  American  Library  Association. 
Similar  bibliographies,  of  varying  excellence,  exist  for  many 
other  branches  of  literature.  A  useful  guide  to  these  and 
to  reference  books  generally  is  the  "Guide  to  the  Study  and 
Use  of  Reference  Books,"  by  Alice  B.  Kroeger,  librarian  of 
Drexel  Institute,  Philadelphia.  This  excellent  manual  will 
give  the  student  a  very  clear  view  of  the  best  of  the  helps 
ready  to  his  hand,  and  will  inevitably  lead  him  to  cultivate  a 
closer  acquaintance  with  them.  All  of  these  works  are  to  be 
had  in  the  reference  department  of  this  library. 


72  Chicago    Libraries 

The  Public  Card  Catalogue.  One  of  the  great  and 
indispensable  aids  to  the  iisefuhiess  of  a  large  library  is  a 
complete  and  properly  arranged  catalogue.  Printed  finding- 
lists,  while  possessing  many  advantages  of  economy  and  con- 
venience, have  distinct  limitations;  the  new^est  books  can 
never  be  included;  each  successive  list  is  "out  of  date" 
almost  on  the  day  of  its  issue,  and  a  constantly  multiplying 
number  of  supplements  becomes  a  hindrance  rather  than  a 
help.  To  overcome  this  difficulty  libraries  have  for  many 
years  availed  themselves  of  the  "card  system"  now^  so  gener- 
ally used  in  business,  and  the  library  card  catalogue,  easily 
kept  up  by  the  addition  of  new  cards  for  each  nev^r  book 
added  to  the  shelves,  is  always  the  final  and  most  complete 
key  to  its  resources.  The  card  catalogue  of  the  Chicago 
Public  Library,  which  is  open  for  use  by  the  public,  is  situ- 
ated in  a  room  immediately  adjoining  the  large  reference 
room,  on  the  fourth  floor.  It  is  contained  in  two  large 
cases,  aggregating  over  i,000  drawers,  and  comprises  over 
500,000  cards.  It  is  arranged  strictly  in  one  alphabetical 
sequence,  from  A  to  Z,  and  contains  references  to  every 
book  in  the  library,  (i)  by  its  author's  name,  (2)  by  its 
title,  and  (3)  by  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats.  A  reader 
who  desires  to  find  the  number  of  a  book  entitled 
"The  Russian  advance,"  without  knowing  the  name  of  its 
author,  has  but  to  look  through  the  cards  under  "Russian," 
where  he  will  find  a  card  which  tells  him  that  this  book  bears 
the  shelf  number  I  8425  in  this  library,  and  that  it  is  the 
work  of  Albert  J.  Beveridge.  In  exactly  similar  manner  the 
reader  who  remembers  that  Senator  Beveridge  tias  written  a 
book  about  Russian  interests  in  the  Far  East,  the  title  of 
which  he  cannot  recall,  will  find  the  card  under  Beveridge, 
which  gives  him  the  information  he  is  seeking.     Again,  the 


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The    Chicago    Public    Library  73 

student  of  the  Eastern  question,  or  of  the  economic  con- 
ditions of  Russia,  will  find  cards  under  these  headings  for  the 
same  book.  In  this  manner  the  contents  of  the  library  have 
been  indexed,  carefully  and  exhaustively,  and  withal  so 
simply  that  it  requires  no  more  skill  to  find  an  author,  title, 
or  subject  in  the  card  catalogue  than  to  find  a  name  in  a 
directory  or  a  word  in  a  dictionary. 

The  Art  Room. — This  room,  auxiliary  to  the  reference 
department,  contains  not  only  the  books  on  "art,"  but 
artistic  books  upon  all  subjects;  elaborately  illustrated  works, 
editions  de  luxe,  and  all  books  which  by  reason  of  their 
rarity,  their  costliness,  or  their  beauty  require  spec  ial  care 
and  somewhat  closer  supervision  in  their  use  than  is  exacted 
in  other  departments  of  the  library.  Among  the  sumptu- 
ous products  of  modern  book-making  there  are  many  volumes, 
indispensable  to  the  equipment  of  a  large  public  library,  whose 
use  is  necessarily  surrounded  with  certain  precautions,  requir- 
ing special  facilities.  For  the  accommodation  of  such  the  art 
room  was  established.  Here  are  portfolios  of  beautiful 
engravings,  copies  of  the  treasures  of  the  world's  great  gal- 
leries, the  finest  products  of  t4ie  modern  graphic  arts,  costly 
works  on  painting,  pottery,  costume,  furniture,  gold  and 
silver  smithing,  and  many  other  departments  of  art  work. 
Here  artist  and  student,  designer  and  dilettante  congregate 
to  derive  instruction  and  inspiration  from  the  splendid  col- 
lections assembled  for  their  use.  Excellently  lighted,  com- 
modious, and  quiet,  this  room  is  most  admirably  adapted  to 
its  functions,  and  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  depart- 
ments of  the  library. 

In  connection  with  the  art  room  accommodations  have 
been  provided  for  those  who  desire  to  use  cameras  for  the 
purpose   of  copying  pictures,  or,  as  is  frequently  done,  to 


74  Chicac.  ()     ].ii;r.\riks 

secure  fac-similes  of  printed  pages  of  some  of  the  rare 
works  in  the  Hbrary. 

The  Reading  Room. — The  reading  room  for  current 
periodicals  is  one  of  the  largest  rooms  in  the  building,  occu- 
pying the  entire  north  front  on  the  fourth  floor.  Some  twelve 
hundred  publications  are  regularly  received  and  kept  on  file 
here,  comprising  all  the  popular  American  and  English  peri- 
odicals, reviews,  and  weeklies,  a  selection  of  the  best  publi- 
cations in  German,  French,  and  other  continental  languages, 
and  daily  newspapers  from  every  important  city  in  the  United 
States  and  from  every  capital  and  many  other  cities  of 
Europe.  Trade  and  professional  journals  of  many  kinds  are 
also  included.  Files  of  all  periodicals,  dating  back  to  the 
beginning  of  the  current  year,  may  be  consulted  in  this 
department.  The  bound  volumes  of  earlier  years  are  kept 
in  the  reference  department.  Files  of  bound  newspapers 
are  stored  in  a  special  room  on  the  first  floor,  and  may  be 
had  for  reference  in  the  patents  and  documents  department. 

Patents  and  Documents  Department.  —The  contents  of 
this  department,  as  its  name  implies,  include  the  reports  of 
patents  granted  for  inventions  in  the  United  States  since 
1790,  in  Great  Britain  since  161 7,  Germany  since  the  foun- 
dation of  the  empire,  France  since  the  time  of  Napoleon  I., 
and  Canada  since  1873.  Copyright  and  trade-mark  records 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  are  also  to  be 
found  here.  These  publications,  numbering  thousands  of 
volumes,  many  of  them  scarce  and  costly,  are  of  the  highest 
importance  to  inventors  and  patent  solicitors  in  determining 
priority  of  inventions  or  the  state  of  the  arts,  and  much  of 
the  patronage  of  the  department  is  composed  of  this  class. 

The  Chicago  Public  Library  is  a  "depository  library" 
designated  to  receive  all  government  publications  as  issued. 


The    Chicago    Public    Library  75 

They  are  available  for  use  in  the  patents  and  documents 
department. 

The  pubHcations  of  many  of  the  states  of  the  Union  and 
of  foreign  countries  are  also  of  great  importance.  The 
mining  reports  of  some  of  the  Western  states  are  veritable 
text-books  of  mineralogy;  the  agricultural  reports  give  at 
first  hand  the  results  of  experiments  in  the  production  of 
crops  and  the  conditions  of  climate,  soil,  and  water  in  vari- 
ous sections.  The  British  government  has  issued  several 
splendid  series  of  reprints  from  its  historical  archives,  which 
are  invaluable  to  the  student.  All  these,  and  many  more, 
are  to  be  had  in  this  department. 

This  room  has  also  been  made  the  repository  of  a  valu- 
able collection  of  early  Chicago  newspapers,  dating  back  to 
the  days  of  small  beginnings.  Complete  tiles  of  many  of  the 
dailies  of  the  city,  of  the  London  Times  since  1873,  with 
partial  sets  of  a  few  New  York  papers,  containing  such 
interesting  matter  as  the  contemporary  newspaper  record  of 
the  Civil  War  and  other  historical  events,  are  included  in 
this  collection. 

Books  for  the  Blind. — The  library  possesses  an  attrac- 
tive collection  of  some  1,000  volumes  of  books  for  the 
blind,  printed  in  four  systems  of  raised  characters,  known 
as  the  Moon,  Braille,  American  Line,  and  New  York  Point 
systems.  These  books  may  be  used  in  the  patents  and 
documents  department,  and  may  be  drawn  for  home  read- 
ing from  the  main  library  or  through  the  delivery  stations. 

The  Branch  Reading  Rooms.  —  In  addition  to  the  deliv- 
ery station  service  the  library  maintains  six  branch  reading 
rooms  in  various  sections  of  the  city.  These  are  established 
in  rented  quarters,  and  are  open  to  the  public  from  i  o'clock 
I".  M.  until  9:45  p.  -M.       Each  of  them   contains  a  collection 


76  Chicago    Libraries 

of  several  thousand  volumes  and  a  number  of  current  and 
bound  periodicals,  selected  with  reference  to  the  needs  and 
tastes  of  the  patrons  of  the  room.  A  delivery  station  is 
maintained  in  connection  with  each  branch  reading  room. 

The  T.  B.  Blackstone  Memorial  Branch  Library. — 
Erected  as  a  memorial  to  the  late  T.  B.  Blackstone,  and 
presented  to  the  city  by  his  widow,  to  be  used  as  a  branch 
of  the  Chicago  Public  Library,  this  beautiful  structure  is 
worthy  of  particular  mention,  not  only  because  it  is  the 
finest  and  costliest  library  building  of  its  size  in  the  world, 
but  also  because  it  marks  the  beginning  of  the  branch  library 
system  in  Chicago.  The  location  is  a  triangular  lot  at  the 
intersection  of  Lake  and  Washington  avenues  and  Forty-ninth 
street.  The  building  covers  a  rectangular  space  of  lOO  by 
45  feet,  with  entrance  on  Lake  avenue.  It  is  constructed 
of  white  granite  in  pure  Ionic-Grecian  style,  modeled  after 
the  famous  Erectheum  at  Athens.  The  interior  comprises 
a  book-room  on  the  left,  with  capacity  of  20,000  vol- 
umes, a  reading  room  on  the  right,  and  a  small  reading 
room  for  young  people  at  the  rear,  all  opening  from  a 
rotunda  which  is  finished  in  pure  Italian  statuary  marble, 
and  is  surmounted  by  a  dome  embellished  with  specially 
designed  decorative  panels  by  Oliver  Dannatt  Grover.  The 
interior  finish  is  of  the  finest  mahogany  and  marble,  the 
book-stacks  being  constructed  of  bronze,  with  mahogany 
shelves. 

This  little  library,  which  has  been  temporarily  conducted 
on  the  lines  of  the  branch  reading  rooms  described  above,  is 
now  about  to  be  fully  equipped  with  a  carefully  chosen  col- 
lection of  books  and  with  all  the  aids  and  facilities  necessary 
to  make  it  a  model  neighborhood  library,  which  shall  become 


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The    Chicago    Public    Library  77 


a  center  of  culture  and  progress,  and  shall  cause  its  influence 
to  be  felt  throughout  the  community. 

Direct  connection  with  the  main  library  is  maintained  by 
means  of  a  delivery  station  and  telephone,  so  that  books 
required  for  special  purposes,  and  not  included  in  the  Black- 
stone  collection,  may  be  quickly  secured  from  the  central 
library. 

The  Library  and  the  Public  Schools. — What  the 
library  can  do  for  the  public  schools  depends  largely  upon 
the  degree  of  receptivity  and  interest  manifested  on  the  part 
of  principals,  teachers,  and  pupils.  The  library  now  issues 
special  cards  to  teachers,  upon  which  six  books  may  be 
drawn  at  one  time.  It  also  honors  requisitions  for  large 
numbers  of  books  for  use  in  the  school-room,  when  made  by 
the  principals  of  high,  grammar,  and  primary  schools.  The 
books  so  issued  will  be  conveyed  between  the  Public  Library 
and  the  respective  school  buildings  at  the  expense  of  the 
Board  of  Education.  For  the  rules  governing  the  issue  of 
books  to  the  schools,  see  Rules  of  the  Board  of   Education, 

1904.  pp.  51-52. 

Through  its  reference  department,  the  library  is  ready 
to  assist  teachers  and  pupils  engaged  in  collateral  reading, 
in  preparing  essays  or  debates,  and  in  looking  up  references. 
Teachers  are  invited  and  urged  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
resources  of  this  departme:it  at  all  times,  and  especially  to 
bring  their  classes  whenever  additional  study  or  illustrative 
matter  upon  a  given  topic  is  desired.  Notification  sent  to 
the  library  in  advance  of  such  a  visit  will  insure  the  reserva- 
tion ol  specially  assembled  collections  of  books  upon  any 
designated  subject.  The  attention  of  the  older  pupils, 
especially,  should   be  called  to  the  library  and  its  resources. 


78  Chicago    Libraries 

and  the  habit  of  independent  research  should  be  encouraged 
and  stimulated  whenever  possible.  As  the  reference 
department  is  open  until  lO  o'clock  p.  m.  on  every  week 
day,  the  evening  hours  would  seem  especially  convenient  for 
teachers  and  pupils  of  the  higher  grades,  particularly  as 
other  demands  upon  the  staff  are  generally  lighter  at  this 
time,  and  more  attention  can  be  given  to  individual  students. 

Frederick   11.   Hild,  Librarian. 


THE    CHICAGO    LIBRARY    CLUB 

The  compiler  of  the  following  account  of  the  Chicago  Library  Club  wishes 
to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  Miss  Edith  E.  Clarke,  of  the  University  of 
Vermont  Library  and  to  Dr.  G.  E.  Wire,  of  the  Worcester  County  Law  Library, 
for  items  of  interest  kindly  contributed  by  them  to  this  history;  to  Mr.  Charles 
H.  Brown,  the  present  secretary,  for  notes  prepared  from  the  minutes;  to  Miss 
Renee  B.  Stern,  former  secretary  and  an  active  worker  in  the  cause  of  home 
libraries  in  Chicago,  for  information  upon  that  subject  and  upon  jail  libraries; 
and  to  Miss  Jessie  L.  Sherk,  for  clerical  assistance.  W.  S.  M. 

Origin  and  Organization. — The  name  of  the  person  to 
whose  mind  it  first  occurred  to  form  a  library  club  in  Chi- 
cago is  not  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the  Club.  We  know 
something  of  the  initial  movement  which  led  to  its  forma- 
tion, however,  from  the  testimony  of  the  first  secretary,  Dr. 
G.  E.  Wire,  and  of  Miss  Edith  E.  Clarke,  both  of  whom 
were  prime  movers  in  the  organization. 

"I  think  it  will  be  acknowledged,"  writes  Miss  Clarke, 
"that  the  initiative  and  inception  of  the  Club  came  from 
newcomers  in  the  Chicago  library  field  at  the  Newberry 
Library,  who  had  learned  the  pleasures  and  profit  of  asso- 
ciation and  mutual  discussion  in  the  library  schools  or  other 
fields,  although  the  veterans  in  the  work  in  the  city  came  in 
cordially  after  the  impetus  had  been  given  and  the  project 
was  under  way.  If  it  had  not  been  started  in  1892,  it 
would  have  sprung  into  existence  from  necessity  when,  in 
1893,  a  host  was  needed  to  do  the  honors  of  the  city  to 
visiting"  librarians." 

Dr.  Wire,  in  response  to  inquiries,  adds  some  further 
details:  "I  know  some  of  us  talked  it  up  after  we  came  on 
from  New  York  City  in  1890,  and  especially  after  the  White 
Mountain  meeting  of  that  year.  We  had  been  members  of 
the  New  York  Library  Club,  and  realized  the  good  such  an 

79 


8o  Chicago    Libraries 


organization  could  tlo.  With  the  startin-;-  of  the  Newberry 
Library  and  University  of  Chicago  Library  and  smaller 
libraries  in  the  surrounding  towns  and  villages,  we  saw 
plenty  of  material  for  membership.  I  remember  drawing  up 
the  call,  taking  it  around  for  signatures,  and  the  first  meet- 
ing in  the  small  lecture  hall  of  the  temporary  building  at 
Oak  and  State  streets." 

The  call,  prepared  December  ii,  i8qi,  at  the  New- 
berry Library,  was  issued  on  the  following  day,  and  read  as 
follows: 

"In  accordance  with  the  general  desire  that  a  Library 
Club  be  formed  in  Chicago,  we  propose  to  hold  a  meeting 
for  the  organization  of  such  a  club  in  the  auditorium  of  the 
Newberry  Library,  December  17,  1891,  at  7:30  o'clock 
p.  M.  You  are  cordially  invited  to  be  present  at  this  meet- 
ing and  join  us  in  the  work. 

[signed]  \\'-  I'"-  Poole, 

Frederick  H.  Hild, 
C.  Alex.  Nelson, 
W.  B.  Wickersham, 
John  Moses, 
Charles  C.  Pickett, 
G.  E.  Wire, 
Lydia  a.  Dexter." 
Pursuant  to  this  call,  twenty  persons  assembled  at  the 
Newberry  Library  on    Thursday,    December    17,*  1891,    at 
8   p.   M.     The   proceedings   as   recorded   in   the   secretary's 
minutes  were  as  follows: 

"Dr.  W.  F.  Poole  was  elected  temporary  chairman,  and 
Dr  G.  E.  Wire  temporary  secretary.  By  request  the  secre- 
tary explained  the  organization  and  work  of  the  New  York 
Library  Club.      Mr.  Hild  moved,  and  Miss  Young  seconded, 


The    Ciiicac.o    Library    Club  8t 


that  we  form  a  library  club.  Mr.  Nelson,  who  had  been 
secretary  of  the  New  York  Library  Club,  then  spoke  at 
some  length,  giving  details  and  history  of  the  club.  He 
said  it  had  increased  its  membership  largely  and  had  been  a 
success  from  the  beginning.  From  it  other  clubs  and  organi- 
zations had  been  formed  for  promotion  of  library  interests. 
Miss  Clarke  spoke  of  three  benefits  which  she  had  observed 
during  the  time  she  was  a  member:  the  first,  acquaintance; 
the  second,  co-operation;  the  third,  an  organized  body  to  take 
hold  of  any  question  relating  to  libraries. 

"Mr.  Pickett  moved  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
report  on  a  constitution  on  the  first  Thursday  in  January. 
Mr.  Nelson  seconded  the  motion,  and  then  moved  that  the 
chair  appoint  a  committee  of  three  to  draw  up  a  constitution 
and  by-laws.  The  chair  appointed  Mr.  Nelson,  Mr.  Pickett, 
and  Mr.  Gauss.  A  form  of  constitution  modeled  on  that  of 
the  New  York  Library  Club  was  supplied  to  the  committee 
by  the  secretary,  and  they  went  into  session.  On  motion 
of  Mr.  Hild,  the  meeting  took  a  recess  until  the  committee 
reported.  After  fifteen  minutes,  8:15  to  8:30,  the  com- 
mittee reported  with  a  constitution  ahered  from  that  used 
by  the  New  York  Library  Club.  Mr.  Gauss  moved,  and 
Mr.  Hild  seconded  it,  that  the  constitution  as  submitted  by 
the  committee  be  taken  up  by  paragraphs  and  be  adopted 
unless  some  objection  be  made.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Pickett 
the  constitution  as  read  paragraph  by  paragraph  was  formally 
adopted." 

Meetings. — The  first  regular  meeting  of  the  Club  was 
held  in  the  following  month  (January  8th)  and  the  number 
of  names  (forty-seven)  presented  for  membership  is  evidence 
of  the  immediate  response  given  by  local  library  workers  to 
the   new  movement.     The   first   regular  paper  was  read  by 


82  Chicago     Libraries 

Miss  Edith  E.  Clarke  upon  "Library  Organizations."  The 
Lihrarv  Joiinial  was  made  the  official  organ  of  the  Club,  and 
minutes  of  the  meetings  as  well  as  many  of  the  principal 
papers  have  since  appeared  regularly  in  that  periodical. 

A  motion  to  incorporate  the  Club  was  made  by  Mr.  Hild 
at  the  February  meeting  of  1893,  and  a  petition  to  that  effect, 
signed  by  the  members  of  the  executive  committee  of  that 
year,  was  duly  filed  at  Springfield.  A  charter  was  issued 
to  the  Club  by  Honorable  W.  H.  Hinrichsen,  Secretary  of 
State,  on  February  ii,  1893,  a  copy  of  which  will  be  found 
on  another  page  of  the  present  manual. 

Meetings  of  the  Club  have  been  held  at  different  libraries 
of  the  city  and  suburbs  and  even  at  private  houses.  An 
unsuccessful  effort  to  secure  permanent  headquarters  was 
made  in  1897-98.  But  the  unfailing  hospitality  of  the  Public 
Library  has  rendered  it  possible,  especially  in  recent  years, 
to  meet  at  a  central  spot  and  without  expense  to  the 
Club. 

Constitutional  History. — The  constitution  drawn  up  and 
adopted  so  expeditiously  at  the  preliminary  meeting  of 
December  17,  1891,  has  served  the  Club  with  few  amend- 
ments down  to  the  present  day.  Changes  that  have  been 
found  necessary  to  make  have  concerned,  first,  the  time  of 
meeting,  and  secondly,  the  status  of  members. 

According  to  the  constitution  as  first  adopted,  meetings 
of  the  Club  were  held  "on  the  Friday  after  the  first  Monday" 
of  the  months  from  October  to  May  inclusive.  On  November 
3,  1892,  the  time  was  changed  to  "the  first  week"  of  the 
months  from  October  to  March,  thus  dropping  April  and 
May.  Special  meetings,  however,  were  sometimes  called  in 
the  spring  months  by  the  executive  committee.  On  October 
6,  1898,  the  time  of  meeting  was  made  "the  second  week" 


The    Chicago    Library    Club  83 

of  the  months  from  October  to  April;  and  finally,  on  No- 
vember 14,  1 90 1,  the  May  meeting  was  made  a  part  of  the 
club  year. 

The  election  of  officers,  in  the  early  years  of  the  Club, 
was  held  in  January,  the  new  officers  thus  controlling  the 
programs  during  the  calendar  year  rather  than  during  the 
club  year.  On  December  6,  1894,  tlie  time  of  election  was 
made  the  final  meeting  of  the  club  year. 

At  the  October  meeting  of  1898,  moreover,  several 
amendments  were  adopted  defining  the  status  of  members 
and  the  duties  of  the  treasurer  in  reference  thereto.  The 
dues  were  made  payable  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  club 
year,  instead  of  in  January,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  tra- 
dition. Members  were  to  be  notified  by  the  treasurer  of  the 
time  for  payment  of  dues,  and  the  names  of  delinquents  at 
the  beginning  of  the  following  club  year  were  to  be  stricken 
from  the  rolls  by  the  secretary.  On  payment  of  past 
indebtedness,  however,  they  could  be  reinstated  by  the 
executive  committee. 

On  November  14,  1901,  a  number  of  further  changes 
were  made  in  the  constitution,  and  the  whole  was  again  read 
in  open  meeting  and  adopted  with  the  amendments.  These 
amendments  are  as  follows:  The  scope  of  the  Club  is 
widened  to  include  all  library  interests;  membership  is 
extended  to  "any  person  interested  in  library  work,"  and 
names  must  be  acted  upon  promptly  after  they  have  been 
presented  by  the  secretary;  the  duties  of  both  secretary  and 
treasurer  are  prescribed  in  detail;  the  proper  auditing  of  the 
treasurer's  annual  report  is  now  made  obligatory;  the  time 
of  meetings  as  again  amended  extends  from  October  to  May 
inclusive,  and  the  mode  of  calling  special  meetings  of  the 
Club  and  of  the  executive  committee  is  prescribed;  the  dis- 


84  Chicago    Libraries 

tiihutiou  of  fiublications  is  to  be  in  charge  of  the  executive 
committee. 

The  last  amendment  made  to  the  constitution,  adopted 
February  1 8,  1904,  permits  the  Club  to  confer  honorary 
membership  on  "persons  who  have  done  specially  valuable 
work  in  co-operation  with  the  Club."  The  first  person  to  be 
honored  by  the  Club  under  this  clause  was  Mr.  A.  H.  Hop- 
kins, who  was  made  honorary  member  on  December  8,  1904. 

Lines  of  Work — The  policy  of  the  Club  has  varied 
somewhat  according  to  the  views  of  members  composing  the 
executive  committee,  which  has,  as  a  rule,  selected  the 
speakers  and  arranged  the  program  of  topics  for  the  year. 
It  is  rather  curious  to  find,  however,  that  three  projects  or 
lines  of  policy,  all  of  which  were  first  suggested  at  the  same 
meeting,  have  never  been  lost  sight  of  and  have  proved  most 
important  features  of  the  Club's  work.  At  the  November 
meeting  of  1893,  Dr.  Wire  read  a  paper  entitled  "Sug- 
gestions," in  which  he  advocated,  first,  that  the  Club  issue 
a  manual  of  the  libraries  in  its  district;  and  secondly,  that 
it  should  prepare  and  maintain  "lists  of  serials  that  the 
several  libraries  have,  showing  not  only  which  serials  may  be 
found  at  the  different  libraries,  but  also  how  complete  they 
are."  To  these  suggestions,  Mr.  E.  F.  L.  Gauss  added  a 
third,  that  "Libraries  ought  also  to  hear  from  outsiders  who 
are  connected  with  literature,  such  as  authors,  teachers  of 
literature,  and  professional  men;  and  that  these  might  be 
asked  to  address  the  Club  at  its  meetings."  The  first  sug- 
gestion has  borne  fruit  in  the  Manual  of  1895  and  in  the  one 
before  the  reader;  the  second  suggestion  has  been  realized  in 
the  Union  List  with  its  triennial  supplements;  while  the 
third  suggestion  has  been  a  settled  point  of  policy  with  ex- 
ecutive committees  for  the  last  five  years.     - 


The    Chicago    Library    Club  85 

Topics  Discussed. — The  scope  of  topics  discussed  before 
the  Chib  has  been  comprehensive,  covering  nearly  every 
problem  arising  in  library  administration  or  connected  with 
the  mutual  relations  of  the  public  library  and  the  community. 
Library  buildings,  their  architecture,  decoration,  and  furnish- 
ings; qualifications  of  librarians  and  assistants,  hours  of  ser- 
vice, regulations,  and  salaries;  work  with  specialists  and  with 
children,  as  well  as  methods  of  reference  attendance  upon 
the  general  public;  branch  libraries;  co-operation;  treatment 
of  maps  and  music  in  public  libraries;  book  illustration  and 
printing — all  these  and  other  topics  have  formed  the  subjects 
of  papers  read  before  the  Club,  or  of  addresses  made  to  it. 
Problems  arising  from  efforts  to  extend  the  usefulness  of  the 
library  beyond  its  own  walls  have  received  special  attention 
from  the  Club,  and  in  three  directions  have  led  to  practical 
and  useful  action  by  committees  appointed  to  carry  them  out. 

These  three  movements  have  been:  i.  Home  and  travel- 
ing libraries;  2.  Jail  libraries;  and  3.  Co-operation  with 
schools,  museums,  and  clubs. 

Home  Libraries. — Home  libraries  were  first  circulated  in 
Chicago  by  the  Library  School  at  Armour  Listitute.  After 
the  removal  of  that  school  to  the  University  of  Illinois  in 
1897,  the  work  was  left  without  direction,  and  at  the  March 
meeting  of  the  Club  in  1898,  a  committee  was  appointed,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Hopkins,  to  report  upon  the  feasibility 
of  continuing  the  work  by  the  Club.  In  the  following 
October  Miss  Irene  Warren,  chairman  of  the  committee, 
reported  that  with  a  small  expenditure  the  cases  and  books 
in  possession  of  the  Armour  Institute  could  be  made  avail- 
able for  circulation  in  the  homes,  under  supervision  of 
students  from  the  Chicago  Normal  School.  In  March, 
1900,  the  distribution  of  libraries  had  become  well  organized 


86  Chicago    Libraries 

and  the  demand  for  them  was  increasing.  In  October,  1 903, 
an  offer  was  made  by  the  Chicago  Bureau  of  Charities  to 
transfer  to  the  Club  the  remains  of  some  forty  libraries 
owned  by  the  Bureau,  and  to  aid  in  placing  them  in  the 
homes.  This  offer  was  accepted  and  the  executive  commit- 
tee on  November  14,  1903,  appropriated  I25  for  the  use  of 
the  home  libraries  committee. 

This  committee  now  has  entire  management  of  the  work, 
selecting  books  and  the  homes  in  which  to  place  them, 
getting  volunteer  visitors — largely  students  in  the  Normal 
School  and  School  of  Education — to  take  charge  of  the 
groups  of  readers,  and  gathering  funds  to  add  new  equip- 
ment as  the  old  wears  out.  The  number  of  libraries  in  use 
has  varied  from  year  to  year,  but  at  present  there  are  fifteen 
in  active  service,  reaching  over  two  hundred  children  who 
for  various  reasons  cannot  obtain  Public  Library  books. 
Many  of  the  books  are  literally  read  to  pieces,  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult, despite  constant  interchange  of  books  in  the  various 
little  libraries,  to  get  enough  to  supply  the  demand. 

Jail  Libraries.— At  the  March  meeting  of  1898  Judge 
C.  G.  Neely,  of  the  Cook  County  Circuit  Court,  made  an 
earnest  plea  for  the  circulation  of  good  literature  among 
criminals  and  juvenile  offenders.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  look  into  the  matter,  and  at  the  meeting  held  in 
the  following  October  this  committee  reported  that  a  begin- 
ning had  been  made  at  the  County  Jail  and  at  the  Bridewell. 
Mr.  Hervey  White  stated  that  he  would  take  personal  charge 
of  the  Jail  Library  if  a  small  number  of  books  could  be  col- 
lected at  once.  A  library  of  a  hundred  volumes  was  collected 
within  thirty  days.  An  attorney,  Mr.  W.  R.  Moss,  later 
assumed  general  supervision  of  the  work.     The  circulation  of 


The    Chicago    Library    Club  87 

the  books,  however,  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  prison- 
ers themselves,  one  of  whom  acted  as  librarian.  The  use 
and  value  of  these  book  to  men,  many  of  whom  had  abso- 
lutely nothing  to  do  with  their  days,  became  so  evident  that 
Jailer  Whitman  took  charge  of  the  work,  and  the  assistance 
of  the  Chicago  Library  Club  was  no  longer  needed. 

Libraries  and  Educational  Institutions. — The  relation 
of  libraries  and  schools  was  made  the  special  topic  at  the 
February  meeting  of  1900.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
co-operate  with  a  committee  of  teachers.  At  a  later  meet- 
ing in  January  of  1901,  Colonel  Parker  and  Superintendent 
Cooley  dealt  with  the  same  topic  from  the  educational  side. 
In  June  of  that  year  the  Club  received  an  invitation  from  the 
Special  Park  Commission  of  Chicago  to  delegate  a  member 
to  serve  upon  the  school  extension  committee  of  that  body. 
Mr.  C.  R.  Perry  and  Miss  Irene  Warren  have  served  in  that 
capacity. 

Library  extension  with  reference  to  museums  was  dis- 
cussed by  Mr.  A.  H.  Hopkins  on  the  part  of  the  library, 
and  by  I.  B.  Meyers  on  the  part  of  the  museum,  at  the 
January  meeting  of  1903.  Mr.  Hopkins,  in  an  address  at 
the  February  meeting  of  the  following  year,  spoke  of  co-ordi- 
nating library,  school,  and  museum,  and  urged  closer  inter- 
relations. 

The  State  Library  Association  and  the  Commission. — 
The  initiative  in  forming  the  Illinois  State  Library  Asso- 
ciation came  from  the  Chicago  Library  Club,  as  did  also  an 
unsuccessful  movement  to  secure  a  state  library  commission 
for  Illinois.  At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee,  held 
October  25,  1892,  the  project  of  forming  a  state  library 
association,  referred  to  this  committee  at  the  previous  meet- 


88  Chicago    Libraries 

ing  of  the  Club,  was  fully  discussed,  and  a  call  was  prepared 
which  was  later  sent  out  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  libraries 
of  the  state.     This  call  read  as  follows: 

Chicago  Library  Club 
To  the  Librarians  of  Illinois: 

The  desire  has  been  expressed  by  manv  Librarians  in  the 
State  that  an  Illinois  State  Library  Association  be  formed 
for  mutual  improvement  and  for  the  promotion  of  library 
interests  —  similar  to  those  which  have  already  been  formed  in 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  Iowa,  New 
Jerse)',  Massachusetts,  Wisconsin,  Indiana,  Michigan,  etc. 
The  Chicago  Library  Club  begs  to  take  the  initiative  in 
forming  such  an  association,  and  under  instructions  passed 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  executive  committee,  invites  all  the 
libraries  of  the  state  to  co-operate  in  the  formation  of  such 
an  association. 

A  copy  of  this  circular  is  mailed  to  all  known  libraries  of 
the  State,  and  the  librarian  of  each  is  requested  promptly  to 
advise  the  secretary,  Dr.  G.  E.  Wire,  The  Newberry 
Library,  Chicago,  whether  he  or  she  approves  the  plan  pro- 
posed, and  will  become  a  member  of  the  same.  When  these 
responses  are  received  and  it  appears  that  such  an  organiza- 
tion is  desired,  a  place  of  meeting  and  date  will  be  fixed  upon 
for  making  the  formal  organization. 
William  F.  Poole, 
Frederick  H.  Hild, 

C.  C.  Pickett,  ^  Executive  Committee. 

G.  E.  Wire, 
Lydia  a.  Dexter. 
Chicago,  November  5,  1892. 
Replies,    in   every  case    favorable,    were -received    from 


The    Chicago    Library    Club  8g 

thirty  of  the  libraries  addressed;  but  no  further  steps  were 
taken  until  January  2,  1896,  when  the  matter  came  up 
again  for  discussion,  another  call  was  sent  out,  and  a  meet- 
ing was  announced  to  be  held  at  Springfield  on  the  23d  of 
the  same  month.  The  organization  of  the  Illinois  State 
Library  Association  was  effected  at  that  meeting.  Plans  to 
secure  from  the  Legislature  the  appointment  of  a  State 
Library  Commission  were  discussed  in  committee  meeting 
April  10,  1895,  and  by  the  Club  on  October  3,  1895,  but 
they  proved  unsuccessful. 

The  State  Association  undertook  in  the  following  year  to 
compile  a  statistical  list  of  libraries  in  Illinois,  and  the  Club 
voted  on  December  2,  1897,  to  appoint  a  special  committee 
to  co-operate  with  the  Association  in  collecting  statistics  of 
the  libraries  of  Chicago  and  Cook  County.  Work  upon  the 
list  has  proceeded  rather  slowly,  and  has  since  been  taken 
up  by  the  Library  of  the  University  of  Illinois. 

Publications  of  the  Club. — The  first  publication  of  the 
Club  was  the  "Constitution,  Adopted  December  17,  1891," 
a  folder  of  six  pages.  In  1893  was  issued  a  second  folder 
of  six  pages,  containing  a  list  of  officers  and  members,  con- 
stitution, and  a  brief  mention  of  the  origin  of  the  Club. 
"The  Chicago  Library  Club  Manual,  1895,"  followed  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year,  a  neat  booklet  of  twenty-six  pages, 
edited  by  the  secretary,  Edward  L.  Burchard.  Besides  the 
lists  of  ofificers  and  members,  the  constitution,  aim,  and 
history  of  the  Club,  the  Manual  contains  brief  accounts  of 
seventeen  libraries  of  Chicago  and  vicinity,  stating  organi- 
zation and  location,  hours  and  regulations,  size,  scope,  and 
administration. 

Modest  as  was  the  little  Manual  of  1895,  it  prepared  the 
way  for  "A  List  of  Serials  in  Public  Libraries  of  Chicago  and 


go  Chicago     Libraries 

Evanston,"  proposed  by  Dr.  Wire  as  early  as  November  9, 
1893,  but  not  fully  discussed  until  the  meetings  of  1896,  and 
linally  issued  in  1901.  Two  committees  were  appointed  to 
prepare  and  issue  this  publication,  one  on  finance,  F.  H. 
Hilcl,  chairman,  and  one  on  editing,  C.  W.  Andrews,  chair- 
man. The  mode  of  preparation  of  this  list  was  co-operative 
as  to  both  compilation  and  expense  of  printing.  Each  library 
subscribed  to  a  certain  number  of  copies  and  sent  to  the 
editor  a  list  of  its  periodicals,  serials,  and  society  publica- 
tions. Volunteers  from  the  Club  met  on  certain  evenings  at 
the  Chicago  Public  Library  Building,  and  transferred  the 
records  of  each  library  to  specially  prepared  blanks,  which 
were  later  combined  and  revised  by  the  editor.  The  editorial 
labor  proved  to  be  so  heavy  that  under  the  strain  of  overwork 
in  connection  with  other  duties,  the  chairman  was  obliged  to 
lay  aside  the  work  for  several  years.  The  postponement  of 
publication,  however,  allowed  the  libraries  opportunity  to 
complete  many  broken  sets,  and  so  was  rather  an  advantage. 
When  the  list  finally  appeared  it  showed  itself  at  once  to  be 
not  only  the  most  important  co-operative  library  enterprise 
ever  undertaken  in  Chicago,  but  it  outstripped  in  extent  and 
scope  every  previously  published  union  list  not  prepared 
under  governmental  auspices.  A  supplement  to  it  was 
issued  by  the  John  Crerar  Library  in  April,  1903,  incor- 
porating many  new  sets,  and  a  second  supplement,  in  which 
all  the  entries  of  the  first  supplement  are  to  be  included,  is 
now  (April,  1905)  in  preparation. 

Prominent  Speakers  Before  the  Club.  — The  earlier 
speakers  before  the  Club  were  all  members.  But  of  late 
years  the  Club  has  listened  to  addresses  by  visiting  librari- 
ans and  by  professional  men  of  note  whom  it  has  invited  to 


The    Chicago    Library    Club  9] 

present  various  subjects  of  mutual  interest  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  public  or  of  the  professions  that  they  represent. 
Among  the  latter  speakers  mention  may  be  made  of  a  few, 
while  the  list  of  all  the  principal  papers  read  before  the  Club 
will  be  found  upon  another  page. 

Librarian  William  H.  Brett,  of  Cleveland,  spoke  in 
February,  1 900,  upon  the  relation  of  libraries  and  schools, 
and  in  November  of  the  same  year  Mrs.  Salome  Cutler  Fair- 
child  read  a  paper,  entitled,  "A  Perspective  in  Library 
Movement."  The  co-operative  plans  of  the  Library  of 
Congress  were  explained  by  Librarian  Herbert  Putnam, 
LL.D.,  on  October  ii,  1901.  Professor  James  Westfall 
Thompson,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  told  of  "France 
since  the  Dreyfus  Case"  at  the  February  meeting  of  1902, 
and  spoke  again,  on  "The  Collection,  Preservation  and  Use 
of  Historical  Material  in  our  Libraries,"  on  January  14,  1904. 
The  Club  listened  to  a  characteristic  "talk"  by  Mr.  Melvil 
Dewey  at  the  rooms  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  on 
the  evening  of  October  31,  1902.  Miss  Jane  Addams  of 
Hull  House  spoke  on  branch  libraries  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  sociologist  at  the  December  meeting  of  1902.  At 
a  public  meeting  on  April  2,  1902,  Professor  Charles  Zueblin, 
of  the  University  of  Chicago,  made  a  stirring  address  on 
"The  Modern  Library  Movement."  Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch 
delivered  an  address,  entitled,  "Libraries  and  Education," 
at  a  public  meeting  held  February  lO,  1903.  A  dinner 
was  given  to  Mr.  A.  H.  Hopkins  at  the  Albion  Cafe  on  the 
occasion  of  his  visit  to  the  city  on  February  18,  1904,  when 
he  spoke  upon  "The  Library,  the  School,  and  the  Museum." 
On  January  30,  1905,  the  Club  listened  to  an  address  from 
Dr.  James  H.  Cantield,  on  "The  Library  as  an  Educational 


92  Chicago     Libraries 

Institution."  On  Friday  evening,  April  21,  1905,  Arliuir 
E.  Bostwick  addressed  the  Club  on  "  Library  Extension  in 
New  York  City." 

Social  Meetings  and  Entertainments The  meetings 

of  the  Club  have  not  been  entirely  professional  in  character; 
and  an  evening  has  been  occasionally  given  up  to  music, 
literature,  and  sociability,  even  including  dancing".  The  first 
evening  wholly  given  over  to  sociability  seems  to  have  been  the 
Book  Party  held  at  the  Library  Bureau  in  January,  1899, 
although  music,  vocal  and  instrumental,  had  been  introduced 
to  enliven  an  election  of  officers  on  December  6,  1894,  and 
appears  on  the  program  of  the  February  meeting  of  1895. 
Dr.  Myra  Reynolds-  gave  an  illustrated  lecture  upon  "The 
English  Lake  Region  and  its  Poets,"  on  December  3,  1896, 
and  recently  (January  13,  1905),  Mr.  John  Vance  Cheney 
read  some  selections  from  his  poems  before  the  Club,  and  a 
social  evening  followed. 

The  Club  has  acted  as  host  to  visiting  librarians  on 
several  occasions.  The  first  was  in  1893,  when  the  World's 
Fair  Library  Congress  was  held  in  Chicago.  The  new  build- 
ing of  the  Newberry  Library  was  just  nearing  completion, 
and  was  opened  for  the  inspection  of  the  visitors,  who  were 
served  with  lunch  there,  and  were  then  taken  on  a  tally-ho 
drive  through  the  parks  to  Buffalo  Bill's  "Wild  West 
Show."  The  badges  worn  upon  this  occasion  by  the  Club 
were  of  orange,  which  at  Mrs.  Dixson's  suggestion  had  been 
adopted  as  the  Club's  color.  Again,  in  the  summer  of  1901 
the  delegates  to  the  A.  L.  A.  convention  at  Waukesha 
received  courtesies  from  the  Club.  A  special  reception 
committee  was  deputed  to  convoy  visitors  upon  a  tour  of  the 
libraries  of  Chicago  and  vicinity.      Similar  courtesies  were 


The    Chicago    Library    Club  93 

extended  to  visiting  librarians  on  their  way  to  and  from  the 
St.  Louis  convention  in  1904. 

Retrospect. — The  record  of  the  Chicago  Library  Club 
for  the  past  thirteen  years  has  been  that  of  an  organization 
of  increasing  importance  and  usefulness  to  the  libraries  of 
Chicago  and  to  the  profession  at  large.  The  papers  con- 
tributed by  its  members  to  library  periodicals  have  been  of 
high  grade.  The  Club  has  proved  itself  a  factor  of  practical 
value  alike  to  library  administrators  and  to  the  general 
public,  and  it  is  now  rapidly  widening  its  scope  to  include 
educational  and  sociological  movements  of  the  first  impor- 
tance to  the  community. 

William  Stetson  Merrill. 


ACT    OF   INCORPORATION 

State  of  Illinois.  Department  of  State.  William  H.  Hin- 
richsen,  Secretary  of  State.  To  all  to  whom  these 
presents  shall  come.     Greeting: 

Whereas,  a  certificate  duly  signed  and  acknowledged 
having  been  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  on 
the  nth  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1893,  for  the  organization 
of  the  Chicago  Library  Club,  under  and  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  "An  Act  Concerning  Corporations," 
approved  April  18,  1872,  and  in  force  July  I,  1872,  and  all 
acts  amendatory  thereof,  a  copy  of  which  certificate  is  hereto 
attached. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  William  H.  Hinrichsen,  Secretary  of 
State  of  Illinois,  by  virtue  of  the  powers  and  duties  vested 
in  me  by  law,  do  hereby  certify,  that  the  said  The  Chicago 
Library  Club  is  a  legally  organized  corporation  under  the 
laws  of  this  State. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  hereto  set  my  hand  and  cause  to 
be  affixed  the  great  Seal  of  State,  done  at  the  City  of  Spring- 
field, this  nth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-three,  and  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  the  one  hundred  and 
seventeenth. 

[seal]  W.  H.  Hinrichsen. 


95 


CONSTITUTION 

Of  the  Chicago  Library  Club,  as  Amended  at  a 
Regular  Meeting  of  the  Club  Held  November 
14,  1901. 

ARTICLE  1 

NAME 

The  name  of  this  organization  is  The  Chicago  Libiary 
Club. 

ARTICLE  II 

OBJECT 

The  object  of  the  Club  is  to  increase,  by  consultation  and 
co-operation,  the  usefulness  of  the  libraries  of  Chicago  and 
vicinity,  to  promote  library  interests  and  work,  and  to  encour- 
age good  fellowship  among  those  engaged  in  such  work. 

ARTICLE  III 

MEMBERS 

Any  person  interested  in  library  work  may  be  elected  to 
membership  by  the  Club.  Applications  for  membership 
shall  be  made  to  the  Secretary,  who  shall  present  them  to 
the  Executive  Committee.  The  Committee  must  report 
them  with  its  approval  or  disapproval  at  the  next  regular 
meeting  of  the  Club. 

[Honorary  membership  may  be  conferred,  upon  recom- 
mendation of  the  Executive  Committee  and  unanimous  vote 
of  the  Club,  on  persons  who  have  done  specially  valuable 
work  in  co-operation  with  the  Club.*] 

*Amendment  passed  February  18,  1904. 

97 


gS  Chicago    Libraries 

ARTICLE  IV 

OFFICERS 

This  Club  shall  elect  at  the  annual  meeting  in  May  a 
President,  two  Vice-Presidents,  a  Secretary,  and  a  Treas- 
urer. These  officers  shall  constitute  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee. This  Committee  shall  appoint  such  special  and  standing 
committees  as  may  be  needed,  and  shall  have  power  to  act 
for  the  Club  on  all  matters  on  which  the  Committee  is  unani- 
mously agreed. 

The  President  shall  preside  at  the  meetings  of  the  Club 
and  of  the  Executive  Committee;  in  his  absence  or  at  his 
request  a  Vice-President  shall  take  his  place. 

The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  record  of  all  meetings  of  the 
Club  and  of  the  Executive  Committee;  shall  give  due  notice 
of  any  election,  appointment,  meeting,  or  any  other  business 
requiring  the  personal  attention  of  any  member;  shall  have 
charge  of  books,  papers,  and  correspondence;  shall  keep  the 
roll  of  active  members,  a  list  of  delinquent  members  stricken 
from  the  roll,  and  a  list  of  members  resigned  or  removed 
from  the  city. 

The  Treasurer  shall  have  charge  of  the  funds  of  the 
Club;  shall  keep  a  full  and  accurate  record  of  all  receipts  and 
disbursements  with  dates,  purposes,  and  amounts;  shall  pay 
no  money  except  by  order  of  the  Club  or  of  the  Executive 
Committee;  shall  submit  a  complete  report  properly  audited 
by  a  special  committee  at  the  annual  meeting  in  May;  shall 
promptly  notify  the  Secretary  when  delinquents  should  be 
stricken  from  the  roll;  shall  transmit  to  each  member  by 
mail  or  otherwise  proper  notification  of  the  time  when  club 
dues  are  payable,  and  shall  notify  delinquents  of  their  indebt- 
edness in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of -Article  VL 


COXSTITL'TIOX  9Q 


ARTICLE  V 

MEETINGS 

The  regular  meetings  of  the  Club  shall  be  held  in  the 
second  week  of  the  months  of  October  to  May  inclusive,  at 
such  time  and  place  as  may  be  approved  by  the  Executive 
Committee. 

Special  meetings  of  the  Club  may  be  called  by  the  Presi- 
dent or  at  the  request  of  ten  (lo)  members;  notices  shall  be 
sent  to  each  member  stating  the  purpose  of  such  meeting, 
and  no  other  business  shall  be  transacted  at  the  meeting. 

Meetings  of  the  Executive  Committee  shall  be  called  by 
the  President  or  at  the  request  of  two  members. 


ARTICLE  VI 

DUES    AND     DEBTS 

Annual  dues  shall  be  one  dollar,  payable  at  the  October 
meeting. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Treasurer  to  send  notice 
within  thirty  days  after  the  said  meeting  to  such  members  as 
have  not  paid  their  dues;  and  in  April  he  shall  send  a  second 
notice  to  such  members  as  may  be  still  in  arrears. 

The  names  of  such  members  as  are  still  in  arrears  at  the 
opening"  of  the  following  club  year  shall  be  stricken  from  the 
roll  by  the  Secretary  without  further  action;  but  such  mem- 
bers may  be  reinstated  by  the  Executive  Committee  on  pay- 
ment of  all  indebtedness  to  the  Club. 

No  debt  or  obligation  of  any  kind  shall  be  contracted  by 
the  Club  or  by  any  committee,  officer,  or  member  thereof  in 
its  behalf,  but  the  Executive  Committee  shall  have  power  to 
expend  money  for  the  ordinary  running  expenses  of  the  Club. 


loo  Chicago    Libraries 

ARTICLE  VII 

IH'BI.lCAriONS 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  arrange  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  all  publications  of  the  Club. 

ARTICLE  VIII 

AMENDMENTS 

This  constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  three-fourths 
vote  at  any  regular  meeting  of  the  Club,  provided  that  each 
member  shall  have  been  notified  of  the  proposed  amendment 
at  least  two  weeks  before  the  meeting. 

ARTICLE  IX 

ORGAN 

The  Library  Journal  shall  be  the  official  organ  of  the 
Club,  and  records  of  all  Club  meetings  and  of  important 
actions  of  the  Executive  Committee  shall  be  promptly  sub- 
mitted to  it  by  the  Secretary. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  CHICAGO   LIBRARY  CLUB 

1892-1905 

PRESIDENTS 
William  F.  Poole,  LL.D.  -     1892. 

W.    B.    WiCKERSHAM      -  -       1 893. 

E.  F.  L.  Gauss  -        -        -     1894. 

Miss  Lydia  A.  Dexter,  Jan-March,  1895. 

E.  F.  L.  Gauss    -        -        -     1895/6. 

Anderson  H.  Hopkins        -     1896/7-1897/8  (two  terms). 

Herbert  W.  Gates    -        -     1898/9. 

C.  B.  RoDEN       -        -        .     1899/1900. 

W.    B.    WiCKERSHAM      -  -  1900/1. 

A.  G.  S.  JOSEPHSON     -  -  1901/2. 

Miss  Irene  Warren  -  -  1902/3-1903/4  (two  terms). 

Miss  M.  E.  Ahern     -  -  1904/5  . 

FIRST  VICE-PRESIDENTS 

Frederick  H.  Hild    -        -     1892. 

Chas.  Alex.  Nelson  -        -     1893. 

Miss  Edith  E.  Clarke      -     1894. 

Miss  Theresa  West,  Jan.-March,  1895. 

Miss  Katharine  L.  Sharp     1895/6. 

Alex.  J.  Rudolph,  elected  March,  1896;  resigned  May,  1896. 

Miss  Mary  B.  Lindsay     -     1896/7. 

W.  W.  Bishop     -        -        -     1897/8. 

Miss  Jessie  Van  Vliet      -     1898/9. 

Wm.  Stetson  Merrill        -     1899/1900. 

Miss  Irene  Warren  -        -     1900/1-1901/2  (two  terms). 

Earl  G.  Swem,  May-Oct.,  1902  (resigned). 

lOI 


I02  Chicago    Libraries 

Miss  Mary  K.  Hawi.i:y,  Oct.,  i(;o2-Ma\-,  1Q03. 
Herbert  A.  Gould    -        -     1903/4. 
Miss  ("aroiim:  W.  M(  Iiaaixk,  1904/5. 

SKCONl)   \  U'll-PKKSIDKNTS 

C.  C.  Pkkf.tt     -         -         -     1892. 

Mrs.  Zella  A.  Dixsox       -     1893. 

G.  B.  Meleney  -        -        -     1894. 

Miss  Mary  B.  Lixdsay,  Jan. -March,  1895. 

G.  E.  Wire,  M.D.      -        -     1895/6. 

Mrs.  Zella  A.  Dixsox       -     1896/7. 

W.M.  Stetson  Merrill        -     1897/8. 

H.  T.  SuDDUTH  -        -        -     1898/9. 

Miss  ]Mary  B.  Lixdsay      -     1899/ 1900. 

R.  P.  Hayes        -        -        -     1 900/1. 

Miss  Evva  Moore      -        -     1901/2. 

Miss   Mary  E.   Hawley,   May-Oct.,   1902;      became     I'irst 

Vice-President. 
Wm.  Stetson  Merrill,   elected    Oct.,    1902;   resigned  Nov., 

1902. 
Herbert  A.  Gould,  Nov.,  1902-Mav,  1903. 
Miss  Caroline  M.  McIl\'aixe,  1903/4. 
Miss  Mary  B.  Lindsay      -     1904/5. 

SECRETARIES 

G.  E.  Wire,  M.D.  -  -  1892. 
E.  F.  L.  Gauss  -  -  -  1893. 
Miss  Carrie  L.  Elliott  -  1894. 
Miss  Katharine  L.  Sh.\rp,  elected  Dec,  1894;  resigned  Jan., 

1895. 
Edward  L.  Burchari:),  Jan.-Dec,  1895.     (Part  of  two  terms; 

resigned.) 


Ofiickrs    of    thk    Chi  (A  CO    Library    Club      103 

Miss  M.  L.  Bennett,  Dec,  1895-Jan.,  1897.     (I'^n'l  <>t  two 

terms;  resigned.) 
Miss  Margaret  Mann,  Jan.-Oct.,  1897.     (Part  of  two  terms; 

resigned.) 
C.  B.  RoDEN,  Oct.,  i897-A])ril,  1899.     (Part  of  two  terms.) 
Miss  Irene  Warren  -         -     1899/1900. 
Miss  Margaret  Zimmerman,  i  900/1. 
Chesley  R.  Perry,  April,    i9oi-()ct.,    1902.     (Part  of  two 

terms;  resigned.) 
Miss  Renf.e  B.  Stern,  Oct.,  1902-May,  1904.     (Part  of  two 

terms.) 
Charles  H.  Bro\vn    -        -     1904/5. 

TREASURERS 

Miss  Lydia  A.  Dexter  -  1892. 
Miss  Lodilla  Ambrose  -  1893. 
Wm.  Stetson  Merrill  -  1894. 
Miss    Elizabeth   A.    Young,    elected    Dec,    1894;  resigned 

Jan.,  1895. 
\\\i.  Stetson  Merrill,  Jan.,  1895-March,  1896  (two  terms). 
W.  \V.  Bishop     -        -        -     1896/7. 

Miss  M.  E.  Ahern     -         -    i897/8-i899/i9oo(threetcrms). 
C.  A.  Torrey      -         -         -      [900/1-1902/3  (three  terms). 
C.  A.  Larson      -         -         -     1903/4-1904/5  (two  terms). 


PRINCIPAL    PAPERS    READ    AND    ADDRESSES 

GIVEN    BEFORE    THE    CHICAGO 

LIBRARY    CLUB 

1892-1905 

"Library  Organizations,"  Edith  E.  Clarke,  January  8,  1892. 
"The  Probasco  Collection,"  Chas.  A.  Nelson,  January  8, 

1892. 
"How  TO  Read  and  How  Not  to  Read,"  William  F.  Poole, 

LL.D.,  March  10,  1892. 
"Subjective  Review  of  the  American  Catalogue,  1884- 

90,"  Mary  Imogen  Crandall,  October  6,  1892. 
"Institute  Libraries  and  their  Work,"  Edith  E.  Clarke, 

November  3,  1892. 
"Some  Popular  Errors  in  Entering  and  Cataloguing 

Books,"  E.  F.  L.  Gauss,  December  i,  1892.     Printed  in 

L.  J.  18:5-8. 
"Broad  Lines  on  which  a  Reference  Library  should - 

be  Established  and  Maintain'ed,"   William  E.   Poole, 

LL.D.,  February  2,  1893. 
"On  Pal/eography,"  Karl  Pietsch,  Ph.D.,  February  2,  1893. 
"A ,  Study    of    College    Libraries,"      Lodilla    Ambrose, 

March  4,  1893.     Printed  in  L.  J.  18:113-118. 
"The  Public  Library  in  its   Relation  to  Education," 

Emil  G.  Hirsch,  LL.D.,  April  6,  1893. 
"Some  of  the  Ancestors  of  the   Modern  Book,",  if r^. 

Zella  A.  Dixson,  April  6,  1893. 
"John  Gutenberg  and  the  Early  Printers,"  William  F. 

Poole,  LL.D.,  October  5,  1893. 
."The    Cataloguing    of   Incunabula,"    Haakon    A^yhttiis, 

October  5,  1893. 

105 


io6  ('  II  ic  AC. (I     1. 1  i;  K  A  K  1 1: s 

"Sl'GCKSTIONS  TO  S  IIMT  I,  All;    1  )lS(  TSSIO.N,"  (/'.  /•".   Wire,  .!/./>., 

November  g,  1893. 
"Tin:   T^RKPARATioN   OF   Printed    Lists    for    Circti.a  itxc. 

Libraries,"  Kate  M.  Henneherry,  December  7,  1893. 
"Woman  in  Literature  at  the  Fair,  from  the  Stand- 
point   OF    a    Librarian    and    Cataloguer,"    FAiith    R. 

Clarke,  Januar_\' 4,  i8g4.      PrinU'd  in  L.  J.   19:47-49. 
"An   Lvening  with   Old   Books,"    Kev.   /•'.    IT.  Ciuusaiiliis, 

D.D.,  Noveml)er  2,  1894. 
"Departmental   Libraries,"   Mrs.   Zrlht   A.   Dixson,   Fel)- 

ruary  8,  1895. 
"A  Brief  History  of  Some  of  the  Libraries  ix  Chkwgo," 

ir.   B.    Wickersliani,  March    8,  1895.       Printed    in    L.   J. 

20:274-279. 
"Historical  Sketch  of  the  Library  Commissions  of  the 

LTnited  States,"  G.  E.  ]]lre,  M.D.,  October  3,  1895. 
"The    Wisconsin    Library    Commission — How    It    was 

Created  and  Organized,"  F.  A.  JIulchius,  October  3, 

1895. 
"Library  Extension,"  /.  O.  Thompson,  Novemljer  7,  1895. 
"Specialization  in  Libraries,"  C.  \V.  Andrews,  January  2, 

1896. 
"Library   Organizations,   their  [Need    and    Benefits," 

Wm.  Stetson  Merrill,  ^Lircli  5,  1896. 
"The  Librarian,  Assistants,  and  the  Public,"  Lutie  E. 

Stearns,  October  7,  1896.     Printed  in  L.  J.  21:489-495. 
"The    English    Lake    Region,"     1/yn/    Reynolds,    Ph.D., 

December  3,  1896. 
"Libraries  from  the  Outside,"  //.  7\  Snddii/h,  jaiuiar\-  7, 

1897. 
"New  Devices  in  Library  Appliances,"  G.   B.  Meleney, 

February  4,  1897. 


PaI'KRS      AXI)      a  DDK  KSS  KS 


"Decorative  Illustration  OF  Books,"  11'.  7'.  Way,  March  4, 

1897. 
"A   Day  with  a   Reference  Librarian,"   Hervey  While, 

October  7,  1897. 
"The  Problem  of  Classifying  the  Library  of  a  The- 
ological School,"  IV.  IV.  Bishop,  November  4,  1897. 
"Post-Conference  Trip  of  the  A.   L.  A.  in  England," 

M.  E.  Ahem,  December  2,  1897. 
"Some  Recent  Plans  for  Co-Operative  Bibliography," 

C.  IF.  Andrews,  December  2,  1897. 
"Library   Progress   in   Germany,"   A.   G.   S.   Josephson. 

January  6,  1898      Printed  in  P.  L.  3:126-128. 
"Home  Libraries  in  Chicago,"  Cornelia  Marvin,  January  6, 

1898. 
"Character  and  Writings  of  Heinrich  Heine,"  R.  F.  L. 

Gauss,  February  2,  1898. 
"Possibilities   of   Library   Work   in   Jails   and   Among 

Criminals,"  Hon.  C.  G.  Neely,  March  2,  i8q8. 
"The     Royal     Society's     Proposed     Classification     in 

Science,"  C.  IF.  Andreivs,  Nov.  10,  1898. 
"A  New  Classific.a.tion  of  Anthropology,"  //////  Dieseriid, 

November  10,  1898. 
"The    Library    Movement    in    the    Dark    Ages,"    Mrs. 

Zella  A.  Dixson,  December  8,  1898. 
"The  Relation  of  Libraries  and  Schools,"  IF.  U.  Brell, 

February  8,  1900.     Printed  in  P.  L.  6:84-85. 
"Preparation   for    Librarianship,"    A.  fi.  S.  .fosephson, 

April  8,  190G.     Printed  in  L.  J.  25:226-228. 
"A    Perspective    in    Library    Movement,"    Mrs.    Salome 

Culler  Fair  child,  November  15,  1900. 
"Some  Beginnings"  (of  co-()[)erati()n  between  libraries  and 

.schools),  Col.  F.  IF.  Parker,  January  10,  iqoi. 


io8  Chicago    Lihrariks 

"How  May  the  Library  Help  the  Public  School?"  E.  G. 
Cooley,  January  lo,  1901. 

"State  Supervision  of  Public  Libraries,"  C.  A.  Torrey, 
February  14,  igoi.     Printed  in  P.  L.  6:271-273. 

"Library  Architecture,"  Normand  S.  Patton,  Marcli  14, 
iQOi.     Printed  in  P.  L.  6:200-204. 

"Hook  L-LUSTKAtion,"  IF.  .1/.  Chile,  April  11,  igor. 

"Color  Printing  as  Illustrated  by  Modern  Color 
Photography,"  F.  S.  Osgood,  April  tr,  1901. 

"  Co-Operative  Plans  of  the  Library  of  Congress," 
Herbert  Putnam,  LL.D.,  October  11,  igoi. 

"Chicago  Library  Club;  Its  Founding  and  Early  His- 
tory," Mrs.  Zella  A.  Dixson,  January  9,  1902. 

"The  Chicago  Library  Club;  Its  Present  and  Future," 
C.  B.  Roden,  January  9,  1902. 

"France  Since  the  Dreyfus  Case,"  James  Westjall  Thomp- 
son, Ph.D.,  February  13,  1902. 

"The  Modern  Library  Movement,"  Charles  Ziiehlin, 
April  2,  1902. 

"Home  Libraries,"  Harriot  E.  Hassler,  April  10,  1902. 

"The  Sanitary  Construction,  Heating,  and  Ventila- 
tion OF  Library  Buildings,"  Charles  Wilkes,  October  8, 
1902. 

"The  Place  of  the  Library  in  the  Community,"  Melvil 
Dewey,  October  31,  1902. 

"Maps  and  the  Reading  of  Maps,"  Zonia  Baber,  Novem- 
ber 13,  1902. 

"The  Making  of  a  Map,"  R.  H.  Allin,  November  13,  1902. 

"Branch  Libraries  and  their  Relation  to  the  Com- 
munity," Jane  Addams,  December  10,  1902. 

''Libraries  .and  Education,"  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  D.D.,  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1903. 


Papers    and    Addresses 


lOQ 


"The    Booklovers    and    the    Tabard    Inn    Libraries," 

F.  H.  Gill,  March  12,  1903. 
"Mural  Decorations  in  Public  Buildings,"  O.  L.  Triggs, 

April  9,  1903. 
"The  Sanitary  Construction  and  Care  of  a  Library 

Building,"  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Richards,  October  15,  1903. 
"The    Sanitary    Care    of    Books    and    Libraries,"    Dr. 

Adolph  Gehrmann,  October  15,  1903. 
"Reference  Work  in  Public  Libraries,"  M.  E.  Ahem, 

November  12,  1903.     Printed  in  P.  L.  9:55-65. 
"The  Place  of  Music  in  Libraries,"   Thomas  Delaney, 

December  10,  1903. 
"The  Collection,  Preservation,  and  Use  of  Historical 

Material  in  our  Libraries,"  James    Westjall    Thomp- 
son, Ph.D.,  January  14,  1904. 
"The  Library,  the  School,  and  the  Museum,"  A.  H. 

Hopkins,  February  18,  1904. 
"The  Problem  of  Children's  Literature,"  Mrs.  Giidrun 

Thorne-Thomsen,  April  14,  1904. 
"The    Library  from   the  Viewpoint  of  the  Trustee," 

Dr.  F.  S.  Johnson,  Franklin  H.  Head,  Dr.  B.  J.  Cigrand, 

December  8,  1904. 
"The    Yellowstone    Park"    (stereopticon),    Capt.    E.    C. 

Culver,  January  26,  1905. 
"The  Library  as  an  Educational  Institution,"  /.  H. 

Canfield,  LL.D.,  January  30,  1905. 
"Library    Extension   in   New   York    City,"    Arthur   E. 
Bostwick,  April  21,  1905. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA      000  338  381 


New  York 
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Library  School 


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This  book  should    be  charged    in    the 
Library  School. 


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